Yume no Tobira
by The Alice Killer - Storm
Summary: All the members of μ's can tell there's something going on between Maki and Nico. They kept getting into more quarrels than usual. Rin decided they needed to get to the bottom of this. And thus, the μ's matchmaking began (a.k.a. Nozomi doing all the work and everyone else just being supportive) Takes place in an alternate time line during Love Live!
1. Prologue

_Nico Yazawa…_

The name that hasn't left her mind since that day…

 _"Ne, Maki-chan! Wait up!" Nico called after Maki as they left practice._

 _Maki paused and turned slightly, staring the third-year down, "What?"_

 _"I wanted to tell you something." Nico panted, bending down with her arms on her knees._

 _Maki waited silently as Nico caught her breath. She took a few minutes and then looked her straight in the eyes._

 _"Maki-chan. There's something that's been bothering me…" Nico started._

 _"What do I have to do with this?" Maki complained._

 _She wanted to go home and finish her school work. She had a test coming up that she couldn't fail if she wanted to stay on her dad's good side. Ever since that one time she got a really bad grade, every test he would threaten her with having to quit μ's if she didn't pass._

 _"You're the problem." Nico stated._

 _"How am I the problem?" Maki shot back._

 _Nico glared at her, "I hate you."_

 _"What? Why? What did I do?!" Maki demanded, "Not that I care. You can hate me all you want!"_

 _"You took everything from me! No one pays attention to me anymore. They all like you!" Nico yelled at her, before turning around and storming off._

Ever since that day, the two of them hadn't spoken. They'd glare at each other and refuse to speak. When the others finally caught on, they were forced to talk again. But, their conversations always ended in a fight.

Maki sighed as she got off her bed and headed to the door. She headed out to the silent living room. Her parents were busy and wouldn't be home till late. Maki was basically alone. Her maid wouldn't bother her without reason.

Maki went to the front door and walked outside. She stood on the ground outside and stared up to the sky. After a few moments, she threw on her shoes and started walking away.

She headed down to a small coffee shop. There were maybe three people inside. Maki entered and took a seat at one of the tables. She stared out of the window and waited. Honoka had texted her earlier asking if she could meet up. Maki hadn't wanted to, but she said yes to save herself the trouble of Honoka bothering her until she would do it.

"Hey, Maki-chan. Sorry for the wait." Honoka arrived a few minutes later.

"It's fine… you weren't really late…" Maki mumbled out, keeping her gaze on the outside.

Honoka tilted her head and stared at Maki, "You okay?"

"Huh? Y-yeah. I'm fine." Maki stammered out as she turned to face Honoka.

"Okay. Anyway, I wanted to talk to you about something." Honoka changed the subject back to what she needed to have answered.

Maki sighed, "I told you already, I'm not telling you what's going on."

"But, Maki-chan, we're all getting worried…" Honoka blurted out, "What if you guys start fighting physically?!"

Maki didn't reply. She merely rested her head on her hand and stared at Honoka as she started blabbering on about all the reasons μ's wanted to know why her and Nico were fighting.

"Maki-chan, please." Honoka begged.

Maki shook her head, "I told you my answer. It won't change. Maybe ask Nico!"

"Umi-chan did… she wouldn't say anything either." Honoka mumbled.

Maki sighed and got up, "I need to go. You're wasting my time."

"Maki-chan! Wait!" Honoka grabbed her arm.

Maki stood still, her expression blank, "What?"

"Nozomi-chan and Eli-chan both said if you guys don't stop fighting you're getting kicked out of practice until you behave." Honoka told her, "If you tell us why you guys fight, we can work something out. I don't want to have you guys missing from practice."

"I'm not telling you much. All I'll say is that Nico hates me." Maki removed her arm from Honoka's grasp and walked out of the shop.

Honoka stared at her receding figure, "Nico-chan… hates Maki-chan?"


	2. Chapter 1

_Beep Beep_

Maki groaned as she hit her alarm. The weekend was over and she had to go back to school. The one place she didn't want to be. There she couldn't avoid Nico.

She would never admit it, but she kinda started to hate Nico herself. Before, she hadn't cared, thinking she would soon apologize. But, that didn't happen. And now that Nico was ruining her normal daily tasks, she had started to resent the small third-year.

Maki threw on her school uniform and quickly brushed her hair. After that, she went down to the kitchen and had some cereal.

"Nico-chan! You're gonna be late for school if you don't wake up!" Nico's mom called, knocking on her door, "I have to go now."

Nico groaned as she sat up and rubbed her eyes. She slowly got out of her bed and headed over to the bathroom. She splashed water on her face to wake herself up.

After she did that a few times, Nico went back to her room and put on her uniform. Then, she took her hair out of her pigtails and brushed it. Then, she put them back up and headed out the door. She grabbed a pop tart from the kitchen and headed out the door, nibbling on it as she walked to school.

μ's had decided to cancel the morning practice due to the weather. It was quite a windy day. They decided instead to meet in their club room and talk about some ideas for their next performance. They all arrived around the same time and took their normal seats.

They put down all the ideas they had and started talking about the reasons why or why not something would work.

"Ne, Maki-chan, do you have any ideas, nya?" Rin asked, being the first to realize she hadn't spoken yet today.

"No." Maki replied sharply, twirling her hair with her hand as always.

Everyone but Nico was taken back by her tone. Maki was normally the last one to snap like that, and over something so simple? That wasn't like her at all.

"Maki-chan, I'd like you to stay after the bell rings." Nozomi said after they sat in silence for awhile.

"Fine…" Maki sighed.

The rest of the meeting went on as normal. Neither Nico nor Maki spoke during the entire time. When the bell rang for the students to get to their classes, everyone but Nozomi, Eli, and Maki left.

"What do you want?" Maki mumbled, looking out the window at the trees blowing in the wind.

Nozomi looked at Eli, "You wanted to talk to her. I just set it up."

"Nozomi!" Eli moaned.

"Come on. We can't be too late, now, Eli-chi." Nozomi teased her, "We don't have permission to stay here."

"Alright. So, Maki-chan. Honoka-chan told us what you said. Care to elaborate?" Eli sighed, before facing Maki with a determined look on her face.

"No." Maki stated.

"Why not exactly?" Eli didn't give up that easily.

"Because I don't really know much… all she said was she was jealous of me for having everything she didn't." Maki admitted, knowing that neither of them would leave until she spoke the truth.

Nozomi tilted her head, "Really? She hates you for something neither of you can control?"

"I don't know. I told you all I know." Maki replied.

"Well, we were thinking of how to fix this problem. There's not much we can do about that, though." Eli muttered.

"I have an idea. It'll only stall it though…" Maki said.

"And what would that be?" Eli asked.

Maki glanced back and forth from her to Nozomi, "Everyone knows we'll fight if we have to talk. Why don't we alternate practices for now. You said you'd kick us out if we didn't behave, so…"

"I guess that's true… we can try it until we can figure something out." Nozomi nodded.

Eli stood up, "Then it's settled. Now, let's get to class before we get yelled at for being late."

Nozomi and Maki followed her as they headed to their classes for the day. The late bell rang right after they got to their respective rooms.

"How'd it go?" Hanayo asked Maki as she walked in.

"Okay. We've worked it out." Maki said as she took her seat.


	3. Chapter 2

After school had ended, μ's went up to the roof to start practice. Eli hung by the door and waited for either Maki or Nico to show up. She and Nozomi had decided that whoever showed up first got to stay for this practice and then they'd alternate from there.

But, after a bit of waiting, neither of them had shown up. Everyone was getting worried that something had happened to them.

"Why don't we all go looking for them?" Honoka suggested.

"Yeah. We should make sure they didn't get into a fight, nya~" Rin added.

Umi nodded, "That's sounds like a good idea."

Everyone split up into pairs of two or three and went looking around the school. Honoka, Umi, And Kotori started in the school, searching all the rooms for a sign of where either of them had went.

"Let's check the music room. Maybe Maki is in there." Kotori suggested as they left the club room after having no luck there.

When they got there, there wasn't anyone inside and the door was locked. The three girls sighed and started heading to the classrooms to look there.

Hanayo and Rin were checking all the club meeting spots to see if they were hiding there. They weren't having any luck either.

"Where on earth could they be?" Hanayo asked as they finished checking another club spot.

Nozomi and Eli were searching outside the school to see if they had left. They didn't get far before hearing yelling.

"I think we found them," Eli said as she started running toward the noise, Nozomi right behind her.

And she was right. Maki and Nico were fighting. Again.

"What should we do?" Eli asked.

"Let's see what happens. If they start getting violent, we'll step in." Nozomi stated, "I wanna see if they'll give anything away."

"Alright." Eli agreed.

The two of them stood by the two, watching them with caution. For a while, they just continued bickering back and forth about whatever was bothering them. Mainly it was Nico complaining about how unfair her life was.

Then, something shocking happened. Nico let out a semi-screech and tackled Maki to the ground. The two of them started fighting. Nico seemed to be trying to cause as much damage as possible while Maki was trying to defend herself.

Nico was punching and kicking as hard as she could. Maki tried her best to block, or at least lessen, the blows. Most of the times she couldn't. Nico had her almost pinned to the ground.

"Eli, go stop them." Nozomi said.

"Me?" Eli asked.

Nozomi nodded, "I'm going to find everyone else."

"Alright." Eli nodded and started running toward the fighting girls.

Nozomi headed the opposite way in search of the others.

"Hey! Stop it!" Eli yelled as she yanked Nico off of Maki and threw her aside.

Nico pushed herself up and glared at Eli, before standing up and storming off. Eli sighed and let her go. She couldn't go after her until she knew if Maki was okay.

"You okay?" She turned to Maki, who was slowly pushing herself into a sitting position.

"Y-Yeah… I'm fine…" Maki stammered out.

"Don't lie." Eli warned.

Maki sighed, "Do you really think I'm okay after that?"

"No. But I don't know what the problem is." Eli replied.

Maki held a hand to her knee, "This is the worst of the pain. When she tackled me, it got bent unnaturally."

"Let me see." Eli pushed Maki's hand away and examined the wound.

Her knee was still swelling and it was really red. When Eli touched it, Maki let out a small gasp.

"Can you stand? I think the nurse should look at it." Eli asked.

Maki shrugged, "I don't know."

Eli stood up and held out her hands. Maki hesitantly grabbed them. Eli pulled her to her feet. Maki didn't stay standing long. She quickly fell. Into Eli.

"Well, I don't think you can walk." Eli stated.

"No duh." Maki muttered through gritted teeth.

"Maki-Chan!"

The two of them turned to see everyone running toward them. Maki tried to push herself away from Eli and stand up again, but Eli wasn't letting that happen. She held Maki down to her chest with one arm.

"Eli… let me go." Maki whined.

"I'm not letting go. You can't stand. Don't hurt yourself worse." Eli stated, a little too harshly.

"This is embarrassing!" Maki whined.

"Then you can sit on the ground." Eli replied.

Maki sighed. She stared at everyone as they gathered around them.

"What happened? Where's Nico-chan?" Honoka asked as soon as she stopped running.

"She ran off after I pulled her away." Eli explained.

Umi glanced at the two girls, "Is everything okay?"

"Everything's fine. Maki-chan hurt her leg a little, that's all," Eli replied before Maki could.

"Well, why don't you guys try and find where Nico got to. Eli-chi and I will take Maki-chan to the nurse." Nozomi suggested.

"Where'd she go?" Honoka demanded.

Eli pointed to the side entrance of the school, "She ran thru there."

The five girls ran off in that direction in search of Nico.

"Why'd you do that?" Eli asked Nozomi once they were gone.

"It's easier this way. They wouldn't shut up with the questions." Nozomi stated.

"True. They wouldn't." Eli agreed.

Nozomi stared at Maki, "I'm assuming you can't walk."

"Yeah…" Maki mumbled.

"Well, you have two options. Either you climb on my back or I'm carrying you." Nozomi offered.

Maki shot back in surprise, ending with her falling to the ground and crying out in pain. Eli knelt beside her and made sure she was alright.

"Can't you just help me walk?" Maki asked.

"It'll take too long. The nurse will be leaving soon." Eli explained.

"Fine… I'd rather be on your back then." Maki sighed, not enjoying the situation she was in.

 _Of course Nico would do this! She just wants to ruin everything!_

Eli helped Maki back up to her feet and then onto Nozomi's back. After she wasn't going to fall off, the three of them started walking to the nurse's office, hoping she was still there.


	4. Chapter 3

"Nico-chan?!" Honoka called as they walked down the street.

"Shut up. Yelling will make her run more. She will avoid us at all costs." Umi hit Honoka on the head.

"Ow… gomen!" Honoka yelped.

"Where do you think she'd go?" Hanayo asked, examining the area around them.

Rin jumped excitedly, "I bet she went home, nya!"

"It wouldn't hurt to check, I guess." Umi mumbled.

The girls headed on their way to Nico's house. They made occasional stops incase Nico didn't actually go home and was hiding out nearby. They didn't see her anywhere and before they knew it they arrived at her house.

Rin and Kotori went up to the door and knocked. The others were scattered around the exits incase Nico tried to run for it.

The door opened to reveal Nico. They moment she saw them, she slammed to door shut and locked it.

"Nico-chan! Open the door!" Rin demanded, knocking again.

"Hey! Don't you dare think about running!" A shout came from behind the house.

Everyone ran to the side to find Umi restraining Nico. Nico was struggling to free herself from the death grip Umi had on her.

"Nico-chan, we just wanna talk." Honoka stated.

"I don't wanna talk!" Nico yelled, still struggling against Umi.

Umi sighed, "You're not going until you talk."

"Let me go!" Nico stomped on Umi's foot.

Umi let out a yelp and loosened her grip. Nico made a dash for it, but was tackled by Rin. Everyone gathered around them.

"One question is all I'll answer." Nico muttered as she sat up, Rin keeping a from hold on her.

"Why did you do that to Maki-chan?" Kotori asked, knowing that was the most important thing to find out now.

"She deserved it. I hate her." Nico stated, making sure to enunciate 'hate'.

"Why? What did she do?" Hanayo asked.

"Ask her. I'm done answering questions!" Nico got up and stormed back into her house.

The girls glanced at each other, "Should we go and try again?"

"No. We got an answer. Let's head back." Umi replied.

Everyone sighed and started the trek back to the school, assuming that Nozomi, Eli, and Maki were still there.

"I just don't get it. They didn't hate each other before."

"I know. I wonder what changed."

"Maybe one of them did something that made the other mad?"

"Maybe. There's too many options."

"I highly doubt it was on purpose. Whatever happened must've been by accident."

"Yeah. We'd never go out of our way to hurt someone."

While the girls chatted and walked back, the other three were in the nurse's office. They had caught her right before she was going to leave.

"Well, it should be fine as long as you don't put much pressure on it. I'll wrap it up and when you get home, put some ice on it. Refrain from physical activity for a while." The nurse explained, as she reached for the small med kit she had.

"If it doesn't stop hurting after a few days, I suggest getting a doctor to look at it then."

"Alright, thank you." Eli said.

"Stay out of trouble girls." The nurse said after she finished and left.

"Shall we wait here for the others to get back?" Eli asked, looking out the window.

"Probably. They'll want to know what happened." Maki said.

The three of them sat in awkward silence, no one knowing if they should say anything. After a few minutes like that, they saw the others running there way.

"Looks like they're back." Eli mumbled, watching them.

Two minutes later, everyone was gathered in the small room. Everyone took a seat somewhere in the room. Maki and Eli were on the bed. Nozomi was in a seat beside them. Umi was leaning against a cabinet, refusing to sit on the ground. Everyone else was sitting on the ground, looking at Maki.

"What?" Maki asked, looking at everyone.

"Aren't you gonna tell us what happened?" Honoka asked.

Maki sighed, "Do I have to?"

"Yes. We're getting an explanation." Umi nodded.

"Where do you want me to start?" Maki mumbled, knowing there was no way around it.

Everyone thought about it for a little, "When did this start?"

"Maybe two weeks ago. It was after practice, Nico wanted to talk to me. I thought she was just gonna talk about the normal stuff, but then she started yelling at me. She said she hates me because I have everything she doesn't have." Maki said.

"Why did you guys fight today?" Hanayo asked.

"She got mad that I wasn't responding to her harassment and attacked me." Maki replied.

"Oh… are you okay?" Kotori asked.

"Y-Yeah. I just can't put pressure on my leg." Maki stammered out.

"So you can't practice for a while then?"

"Yeah. It's fine. It doesn't matter."

"Well, we should head home." Umi walked to the door.

"Yeah. We have a lot of work to do tomorrow." Honoka agreed.

Everyone started walking out of the room, agreeing they should go home.

"So, what are you gonna do?" Nozomi asked Maki.

"Uh… I don't know."

"You can't get home by yourself." Eli pointed out.

"I know that." Maki groaned.

"Eli-chi, you can go home. I'll take her." Nozomi said.

"Are you sure?" Eli asked.

Nozomi nodded, "Yes. I'm sure."

Eli sighed and left the room. Maki stared at Nozomi, not really liking her decision.

"You can hop if you want. I won't make you climb on my back again." Nozomi said.

"O-okay." Maki stammered as she stood up, balancing on her one leg.

Nozomi wrapped an arm around Maki to steady her. The two of them slowly made their way out of the school and to Maki's house, taking breaks along the way.

"Are you good?" Nozomi asked as they arrived.

Maki nodded, "Yeah."

Nozomi nodded and turned to leave.

"N-Nozomi!" Maki called.

"Hm?" Nozomi turned back around.

"Uh, t-thanks." Maki mumbled, her face turning red.

Nozomi smiled at her, "See, was that so hard to say?"

"H-Hey!" Maki stammered out, but Nozomi had already left.

Maki sighed as she limped into her house.


	5. Chapter 4

The next day μ's was all gathered on the roof, except for Nico and Maki. That wasn't a surprise to μ's at this point though.

"Hey, class is gonna start soon. We should head down," Eli stated.

Everyone groaned as they packed up. They all started to slowly walk down the steps and to their club room to gather the rest of their stuff.

They ran into Nico along the way. She huffed and continued past them, not saying a word.

"What's her problem?" Umi muttered.

They made it to the club room and walked inside.

"Maki-chan?!"

Maki was sitting in a seat reading a book. Beside her were crutches. Maki put her book down and looked at them.

"Yes?"

"C-crutches?!" Hanayo stammered.

"No duh. I can't walk without them." Maki rolled her eyes.

"How come we didn't see you earlier?" Honoka asked.

"My mom dropped me off a few minutes ago. I've just been waiting for you guys here." Maki replied, refusing to make eye contact.

"Oh…"

"Well, the bell is gonna ring soon. We should get to class." Umi stated.

Umi then proceeded to drag a protesting Honoka out of the classroom with Kotori following behind her, smiling and chuckling about Honoka. Until they left the floor, you could still hear Honoka complaining.

"How does she have so much energy?" Eli sighed.

In that time, Maki had put her book away and stood up, "Hanayo, uh, could you... carry my bag?"

"Sure!" Hanayo quickly bent down and grabbed it for her.

"Well, shall we go then?" Nozomi asked, holding the door open with her foot.

Everyone nodded and exited the club room and went to their classes.

"So, you can't even come to practice now, nya?" Rin asked Maki as they slowly made their way to the room.

Maki nodded, "I don't think climbing that many steps is a good idea. And, I'm not very good at these things yet…"

"Maybe we could move somewhere else for a while? There has to be a place we can use, be it in the school or not." Hanayo suggested.

"I don't care if I can make practice or not. Don't worry about me." Maki mumbled, her face getting redder by the minute.

"Aw, someone's embarrassed that we care so much, nya!" Rin laughed.

Maki turned a bright red. Her blush was rivaling her hair color, "N-no! I'm not embarrassed!"

Hanayo and Rin laughed at the girl. That seemed to make her blush even harder.

Before they knew it, they had arrived at their classroom. The three of them entered to see almost everyone was there already. Normally, they got there earlier than most of the students.

Some of them started whispering, no doubt talking about Maki. Rin took her seat while Hanayo helped Maki to her's.

After school was over, μ's met back up in the club room. Nico was still missing, though.

"What are we gonna do about her? We have a show in a month." Honoka asked.

"Someone needs to get her to talk." Umi stated.

Everyone looked over at Maki.

"W-what? You think I'd talk to her!?" Maki stammered out.

"You're the only one she's willingly approached." Honoka protested

"Yeah, to attack me." Maki scoffed, "You really think I can get her to listen?"

Honoka sighed, "Fine…"

"Why don't we all corner her? There's no way she could escape then." Kotori suggested.

"But how do we do that? Won't anyone get suspicious if we do that?" Rin asked.

"Why don't we just take turns trying to get her to talk? If everyone fails, then we can try a new method." Maki said, already annoyed with the bickering.

"Alright! Who wants to go first!" Honoka jumped out of her seat and slammed her hand on the table.

"Why don't you try? You seem ready?" Umi replied.

"Okay! I'll try!" Honoka nodded her head rapidly.

"Nico-chan? Are you home?" Honoka knocked on the door loudly, "Please open up!"

After a few minutes, the door finally opened a small bit to reveal Nico, "Leave me alone."

"Wait! I just wanna talk…" Honoka called as Nico slammed the door in her face.

"Go away!" Nico yelled from the other side of the door.

"Nico-chan! Come on!" Honoka yelled back.

"Leave me alone!" Nico repeated.

Honoka sighed and walked away. She decided she'd try again at school. There were only so many places Nico could hide there. There was no way she'd be able to escape.

"Nico-chan!"

The moment Nico stepped onto the school grounds, Honoka was after her. The two girls ran throughout the entire courtyard. People watched them, confusion written on their faces.

"Get away from me!" Nico yelled as she darted into the school.

Honoka kept chasing after her still. She only stopped when Nico vanished from her sight. She frantically looked around, trying to figure out where she could've gone.

"Where did you go, Nico-chan?!" Honoka called.

She wasn't really expecting a response. And she didn't get one. Honoka sighed and headed over to the club room.

"I guess someone else can try their luck…" Honoka sighed, sad she couldn't catch up to Nico.

"She really doesn't wanna talk, nya~"

"Yeah. How are we gonna do it?"

"How about I try? I'm sure she'd talk to me."

"Uh… just don't kill her, please?"


	6. Chapter 5

"One, two, three, four." Umi called as she clapped her hands in rhythm with the dance.

Everyone had decided to try and practice elsewhere for a day or so just so that Maki could be involved since she had agreed to come back to practices.

They were currently in an old parking lot that was going to be fixed up in a month. Since it was so broken, no one parked there or even went near it. It was a nice desolate place where they could be alone.

"Alright. That's enough for today." Umi stated after they finished the routine.

Everyone went over to their bags and grabbed some water. They sat in a circle and talked for a while.

"Well, I'm gonna go and see about Nico-chi." Nozomi said, smiling mischievously.

"Have fun?"

"Oh, I will." Nozomi smiled as she left them.

"Should we be concerned?"

"Maybe? But, it's not like we can do anything about it."

"Yeah. I guess we'll just have to see tomorrow then."

"We should go home. It's getting late." Eli stood up.

"Yeah, I guess we should," Umi agreed, standing as well.

Soon everyone had gotten their things together and started the walk home. They stayed together until they had to turn a different way or made it to their house.

Nozomi stood outside Nico's house. The lights were off, meaning that no one was home or they were asleep. She waited patiently behind a wall. Once Nico came home, she'd hopefully be able to get her without anyone knowing.

After a while of waiting, Nico finally showed up. She was about to open the door when Nozomi stepped out behind her. Nico turned around and started backing away.

"Don't even think about running," Nozomi stated, doing her washi washi hands.

Nico narrowed her eyes, but stayed still, "What do you want?"

"You're going to tell me everything. Or else I'm going to have some fun with you." Nozomi replied.

Nico's eyes went wide, before they dropped and she slumped in defeat, "Fine… come inside."

The two girls walked inside.

"No one's home right now. Mom took my siblings on a trip." Nico explained as she sat at her kitchen table.

Nozomi sat on the opposite side of her, "That makes this easier then, doesn't it? No one will interrupt us."

"Just ask the questions." Nico sighed.

Nozomi laughed slightly, "You know the question, Nico-chi."

"I don't. You guys keep asking different ones." Nico mumbled.

"Why do you hate Maki-chan? That's what I want to know." Nozomi clarified.

"I'll tell you if you promise not to tell anyone else."

"Deal."

"Alright. Well, the truth is…"

The next day, everyone gathered in the club room as always. This time, Nico showed up. Everyone was staring at her in surprise, except for Maki, who simply huffed and looked away.

"You finally decided to come back, huh?" Umi asked Nico.

"Yeah. So what?" Nico challenged.

"Guys, stop fighting." Honoka grabbed Umi by the arm and tugged her away from Nico.

Tension were high that day. Nothing anyone did could fix that. Nico seemed to be itching to fight with anyone she could.

"Well, should we go practice?" Kotori suggested, trying to lighten the mood.

"Yeah, let's go."

Everyone stood up and started heading to the roof.

"Are you sure you can make it up?" Eli fell into pace beside Maki.

"Yeah. I can do it at home. It shouldn't be any different, right?" Maki nodded, focusing her attention on not accidentally hitting anyone's feet with her crutches.

"I don't know. Aren't there more steps here though?"

"Only a few more. It's not that bad." Maki rolled her eyes.

Eli sighed and didn't argue. The nine girls made it to the steps and started heading up slowly, knowing Maki would be a bit slower.

Thankfully, they all made it to the roof without an issue. The girls set their bags down and started stretching. Maki took a seat against the wall and watched them.

"Do you know how much longer you'll be on them for?" Hanayo asked as she set her bag next to Maki's.

"Maybe another day or two. I can sort of walk, I guess…" Maki mumbled.

"Come on, get in formation!"

The day at school was boring. They had a speaker for every class telling them things about what jobs they should be focused on or about what can get them in a lot of trouble.

μ's was very happy when the bell rang to dismiss all the students from school. They met up in their club room to wait for the students to get to their locations, whether that be a club or home.

"So, do we have everything done?" Honoka asked as she read through a paper of notes they took.

"Yeah. We just need to practice." Umi nodded.

Honoka smiled with relief, "Shall we go and do that?"

"It's supposed to rain in a few minutes, I'm not sure we should." Eli pointed out, looking at the dark clouds forming.

"Aw…" A chorus of whines went up.

"What should we do then? It seems too early to go home." Kotori asked.

"Maybe we can find a spare room to use?" Honoka suggested.

"Don't be ridiculous! All the outdoor clubs will be inside. There's no way we could find a room." Nico snapped at her.

"Hey, stop fighting with people." Umi yelled at Nico.

"I can do what I want and you can't stop me!" Nico yelled back.

"Nico. Stop fighting or you're not welcome here anymore." Eli warned.

Nico huffed and got up, "Fine. I'm leaving."

Nico quickly walked out of the door and stormed back to her house, muttering under her breath.

"Maybe we should go home." Hanayo whispered.

"Yeah. Let's go."

Everyone stood up and headed to the front of the school. Just as they reached the door, the rain started. Everyone groaned and started pulling out their umbrellas.

"Do you wanna walk home together? I don't think you'd want to get soaked on your way home."

"S-sure… I guess?"

Everyone said their goodbyes and headed off in whatever direction they needed to go in.

"Is there a reason you wanted to walk with me?" Maki asked.

"Yes. There's something we need to talk about." Nozomi nodded.

"And what is that?" Maki asked, getting suspicious.

Nozomi thought about what she should say, "Tomorrow you should talk to Nico. There's something you guys need to discuss."

"I'm not doing that! I'm not going near her!" Maki protested.

"I talked to her. We sorted it out. She just wants to tell you something." Nozomi stated.

Maki sighed, "Fine… you're at fault if something else happens then."

"I can live with that." Nozomi laughed slightly.

The two girls fell silent after that. All you could hear was the rain hitting the umbrella and Maki's crutches hitting the ground. The few people walking around outside seemed to stare at them whenever they could.


	7. Chapter 6

"Nozomi said you wanted to talk to me." Maki walked over to Nico.

She had finally gotten off of the crutches and was able to walk again. This time, she just had a brace over her knee.

"Yeah. Come on. I don't want anyone else hearing us." Nico started walking inside the school.

Maki glanced around, before following Nico. The two of them walked around the school until they came to the music room.

"This is private enough." Nico decided as they walked inside.

The two stood on the stage and faced each other. Maki stood close to the door, not trusting Nico to keep her promise of just wanting to talk.

"What do you want?" Maki asked.

"Well, uh, I guess… I'm sorry?" Nico stuttered out quietly.

Maki rolled her eyes, "I don't believe you."

"I'm sorry. What I did… it wasn't right. I shouldn't have done that. Is that good enough?" Nico mumbled, dancing on her toes.

"Yeah. That's fine, Nico… Nico-chan." Maki replied hesitantly.

Nico looked at the clock, "We should get to the roof. They're probably waiting for us."

"Alright. Let's go and practice. No fighting this time, right?" Maki asked.

"Yeah. No more fighting." Nico nodded.

When the two girls got to the roof, the rest of μ's had just finished doing their stretches.

"Hey, no crutches, nya!" Rin yelled as she ran over to Maki and hugged her.

"Rin! Let go!" Maki tried to push her away.

Rin giggled and let Maki go. She skipped back over to where Hanayo was standing.

"Are you able to practice?" Umi asked.

"Yeah. I just can't push my leg too hard." Maki nodded.

"Okay. If it's too much, you can stop whenever." Umi replied.

"Alright… thanks, I guess." Maki mumbled.

μ's got in formation and waited for Umi to start.

"So, did you tell her?" Nozomi stopped Nico in the hallway as they headed to class.

"N-no. She'd never accept it." Nico mumbled.

"You'll never know her reaction if you don't say something." Nozomi pointed out.

"What are you guys talking about?" Maki walked over to them.

"N-nothing!" Nico quickly stated.

Maki rolled her eyes, "I heard your conversation, you know. You can't hide it."

"And why are you eavesdropping!?" Nico demanded.

"I wasn't. You were being loud." Maki defended.

Nozomi walked over to stand by Honoka, who had appeared seemingly out of nowhere.

"And they're back at it again…" Honoka sighed.

Nozomi nodded, "Let's see if they'll sort it out."

"Is that a good idea? Remember last time…" Honoka started.

Nozomi cut her off, "It's alright. I don't think they'd fight in the middle of the hall."

"Just tell me!" Maki said firmly.

"Fine! I love you, okay!? There, I said it! Now leave me alone!" Nico stormed off, leaving Maki standing there in shock.

"W-what?" Honoka looked just as shocked as Maki.

"Yeah… that's what we were talking about…" Nozomi mumbled to herself.

"Nozomi? Is that true?" Maki turned to her.

"Yes. It's true." Nozomi confirmed.

Maki walked over to her, "I don't know what to think…"

"That wasn't how she was supposed to confess. I can't blame you." Nozomi agreed.

"Is that why she was so mean before?" Honoka asked.

Nozomi shrugged, "I'm not entirely sure. From what she said to me, I don't think that's the whole picture."

"What do you suggest we do then? I'm probably not on her good side again." Maki asked.

"We can discuss it after class. I think Nico isn't going to show up to practice today." Nozomi replied.

Honoka groaned, "Again?!"

"Unfortunately, yes."

"Anyway, we need to get to class." Maki cut in, pointing at the clock.

"Alright. See you later." Honoka headed off quickly, "Umi will kill me if I'm late!"

"I guess I'll be going then." Nozomi said as she walked in the direction Nico ran in.

Maki sighed and headed her way.

"Nico… why are you like this? Why do you love me? And why do you hate me at the same time?" Maki mumbled to herself as she walked down the almost empty halls.

"Hello? Earth to Maki." Rin poked Maki's cheek.

The red-haired girl didn't respond. She was staring out the window of the classroom, which had emptied out a long time ago.

"Maki-chan!? Hello?!" Rin shouted in her ear.

Maki jumped back, startled, and fell out of her chair.

"I'm sorry! I didn't mean to scare you!" Rin apologized as she knelt beside her.

"I-it's fine. I should've noticed you there." Maki stammered out, her face turning red with embarrassment.

"What were you thinking about? You've been sitting there for the past hour." Hanayo asked.

μ's had gathered in the club room to see who would show up to practice. Maki hadn't shown up so Rin and Hanayo decided to go look for her. When Umi brought up the fact Nico hadn't shown up, Nozomi explained that she had fought with someone, who everyone instantly knew was Maki, and wouldn't show up because of that.

"Oh… uh, I can't tell you. It's kinda personal." Maki replied as she allowed the two girls to pull her to her feet.

"Okay. If you ever wanna talk about it you can talk to us, you know." Hanayo pointed out.

Maki nodded, noting she probably wouldn't ever do that, "Thanks."

"Shall we go to the club room?" Rin asked.

"Sure…" Maki mumbled.

The three first-years walked slowly down the hall and talked about how annoying the substitute teacher had been. Along the way, they ran into Nico. She was shoving something into her locker. On a closer inspection, they saw it was a book that was pretty messy.

"Nico-chan? I thought you'd have gone home by now." Rin started running over to her, only to be pulled back by Maki and Hanayo.

Nico froze at the sound of her voice, "Why aren't you practicing?"

"Maki-chan was daydreaming and never showed up, nya~" Rin replied as she settled down.

"Maki, do you have a minute?" Nico asked quietly as she walked over to the girls.

"Uh, yeah." Maki was surprised.

"Come with me. You two can go to practice. We'll be there soon." Nico told the others.

"You'll come to practice?" Hanayo asked.

Nico nodded, "Yeah. I guess I missed having fun like that."

"See you soon!" Rin said as she drug Hanayo away to the roof to meet with the rest of μ's.

"Where is a private place we can talk?" Nico mumbled to herself.

"Do you want to go the music room? I'm normally the only one who'd go there." Maki suggested.

Nico nodded and started walking that way, Maki on her heels. They made it without any problem. They sat on the side of the stage and stared at each other in silence.

"So, what did you wanna talk about?" Maki finally asked.

"I… I, uh… are you okay with what I said before class?" Nico stammered out.

"What part? The one calling me a stalker or the one about loving me?" Maki teased.

Nico's face went red, rivaling Maki's hair, "Uh… sorry about that… I was just… I didn't want to tell you the truth…"

"It's fine. I've gotten used to you doing that."

"But, about me loving you… uh… are you fine with that? I know it's sudden and probably unexpected but I-"

Maki cut Nico off by placing a hand over her mouth, "Shh. I heard something."

Nico pushed Maki's hand away and looked around the room.

"Outside the room." Maki hissed, pointing at the door.

Nico looked out to see two unfamiliar students talking outside the door.

"So, what do you think of that girl?"

"Which one? They all are annoying."

"The crazy one."

"There's two of those."

"Long hair."

"Oh. That one. Wasn't it Honoka?"

"Yeah. What do you think?"

"I think we should teach her a lesson."

"As in?"

"Let's gang up on her when she leaves."

"Alright."

Maki and Nico shared concerned looks. They waited for the girls to leave before speaking again.

"That's not good…" Nico mumbled.

"Nico-chan? What do you think we should do?" Maki asked.

"We should tell her. And then all nine of us should walk home together." Nico stated.

"That's sounds like a good idea, given they believe us." Maki said.

"They better." Nico growled.

"Should we go up?"

"Wait. Uh, can you answer my question first?"

"Fine."

Maki sighed and kissed Nico. Nico was frozen in shock. She had thought Maki would be mad at her.

"You're not mad?"

"No. Why would I be?"

"Uh, do you really love me back?"

"Yes."

"Can we… date?"

"I guess. It just has to be a secret. My parents aren't exactly fond of this stuff." Maki explained.

"Yay! Now let's go and help Honoka!" Nico stood up and headed to the roof, Maki chasing after her.

"What?!"

After they had explained what they heard, everyone was either angry or shocked. Honoka was fighting back tears.

"Honoka-chan? Hey, don't cry. Don't listen to them." Kotori pulled Honoka into a tight hug.

Everyone soon joined them as they offered some kind words to her.

"You're an amazing person." Umi whispered as she hugged Honoka from behind.

Hanayo pressed herself onto Honoka's right side, "Yeah, without you we'd be nothing."

"You're the best person ever, nya!" Rin joined in on the left.

"They don't know you. Don't listen to them, alright?" Maki patted her head and laid a reassuring hand on her shoulder.

"If you want, we can go punish them."

"Nozomi, no!"

"I'm only joking, Eli-chi." Nozomi giggled as she placed her hand on Honoka's other shoulder.

"They don't deserve your tears." Nico announced as she pressed her face between Umi and Rin.

"Do you us to walk with you?" Eli asked, checking the time.

"Yes, please." Honoka mumbled as she stood in the center of the hug.

"Well, get your things everyone! We're going to Honoka's house." Eli stated.

The hug broke apart and everyone grabbed their bags.


	8. Chapter 7

Maki was the first to notice the two girls following them from a distance as they left the school. She told everyone and they all stopped walking.

"What should we do? We can't let them find out where Honoka-chan lives." Kotori asked.

"You guys go ahead. I'll go and talk to them." Eli said as she waved them off.

"I'll help you. Incase they try and fight." Nico stated.

"Alright. The rest of you go." Eli nodded.

Her and Nico started heading over to the girls, who were whispering amongst themselves.

"Hello, girls. You've been following us since we left school. Is there a problem?" Eli asked.

"Oh, uh, no?" One of them replied.

"Then why are you following us? When we stopped you stopped. You would've kept going if you had a place in mind!" Nico screamed at them.

"What do you think we're doing then?" The other girl taunted.

"I heard you're little conversation about jumping Honoka!" Nico growled as she tried to attack them.

Eli held her back, "I suggest you leave. If not, I will be reporting you to the police."

The girls looked at each other and ran in the opposite direction as fast as they could. Nico was fuming.

"You really shouldn't try and attack people out in the open. You could've gotten in a lot of trouble." Eli scolded Nico.

"Sorry, but come on! They needed to be taught a lesson!" Nico protested.

"Come on. Let's go. We can talk when we get to everyone."

"Fine…"

The two of them ran to catch up with the others. They had already made it to Honoka's house.

"How'd it go?" Umi asked as the two entered.

"Nico tried to kill them." Eli stated.

"I did not! I was just going to punch them a few times!" Nico defended.

Everyone laughed as she became flustered.

"Aw, Nico. Does someone need to be taught not to fight?" Nozomi teased, smiling as she started to get up.

Nico let out a squeal as she dove over to Maki and hugged her tightly, "Don't let her get me!"

Maki lightly gripped Nico to keep both of them from falling off the couch. Everyone was stunned. The first person Nico went to was Maki, who had previously been half way across the room from her. And Maki didn't seem to care.

"Did you two finally make up?" Honoka asked.

Nico shot back out of Maki's light grip and fell onto the floor, "Ow!"

"Aw… did you two confess?" Nozomi teased.

"What?!" Everyone but Nico, Maki, And Honoka chimed.

"Uh… Yeah… so, everyone… Maki and I are, uh, dating…" Nico mumbled out.

"Wait. You guys are gay?!" Hanayo seemed to be the most shocked.

Nico glared at her, "Yeah. Is that a problem?"

"N-no. I just didn't expect you guys." Hanayo mumbled.

Nico smirked. She stood up and walked back over to Maki. She sat on her lap. Maki gave Nico a confused look. Nico smiled and kissed her on the lips.

"S-shameless!"

"Oh my. How lovely."

"No! Don't do that here!"

"Cute! Right?"

"Y-Yeah. Cute."

"The Hell, Nico!?" Maki pushed her away.

"Just admit that you loved it." Nico smirked.

Maki started blushing insanely, "N-no… you shouldn't kiss people without asking first!"

"Aw… come on. I was just proving that we're dating." Nico whined as she plopped back onto Maki's lap.

Maki turned her head away with a huff, "I think they believed you the first time."

Nico laughed as she kissed Maki on the cheek. Maki groaned and faced Nico.

"Stop doing that." She warned.

"Fine…" Nico pouted.

"How did you guys start off fighting and end up dating?" Umi asked.

"Long story." Nico mumbled.

"Well, we have all night. We're having a sleepover." Kotori pointed out.

"Fine… I guess we don't have a choice…" Nico sighed.

 **Flashback**

 _"What do you mean?! Why?!" Nico cried as she clung desperately to her mother."I found a better job. We need to go there, Nico." Her mom explained."B-but…" Nico protested."I know you don't want to leave your friends, but it's for the best.""Okaasan, I'm not leaving. I'll get a job, I'll pay the rent. Please!" Nico begged."Fine. If you truly want to stay, I can't stop you. But, we won't see each other again.""I'm not leaving this place.""We'll be leaving town in a week. Say goodbye to your siblings. Until then we've decided to stay at a motel.""Alright." Nico bit back tears as she ran off to her room and cried._

 **Flashback over**

"Nico-chan… I had no idea…"

"Yeah. But why didn't you go with them if you're so sad?"

Nico looked at the ground, fiddling with Maki's hand, which she had grabbed without thinking as she spoke, "I didn't want to leave you guys… you're my friends. I doubt anyone at the new school would deal with me…"

"Is there something else wrong?" Eli asked.

Nico nodded, "Yeah…"

 **Flashback**

 _"I'm sorry, but you need to move out in a week. They're building a shop here.""But this is my house! You can't do this!""You're barely paying the rent on time! You should be lucky I let you stay till now!"_

 **Flashback over**

"How long do you have?" Rin asked.

Nico sighed, "Tomorrow is the last day…"

"Do you have a place to go?" Eli questioned.

Nico shook her head, "No. I got fired from my job. I don't have any money…"

"Well, you can probably stay with all of us until you can find a place."

"But how? I don't have a job…"

"We'll help you. We're family after all, aren't we?"

"Minna, thank you…"

"It's nothing. We're all happy to help."

"Anyway, I'm hungry!" Honoka complained.

Everyone started laughing. Honoka looked at everyone, confused.

"Is all you can think about food?" Umi whacked her on the head.

"Ow… gomen! But I'm hungry." Honoka mumbled, rubbing her head.

"Shall we go out to eat?" Hanayo suggested.

Everyone nodded and got ready.

"Nico-chan?" Maki asked.

"Yeah?" Nico glanced at her.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah. I'm alright."

"You sure?"

"Well, I'm a little upset, I guess. I tried not to ever think about it."

"Oh, sorry. You should've just said you weren't ready to talk."

"They deserved to know."

"Is this why you were being mean to me?"

"Yeah… you were just so happy. I wanted someone to suffer… I know I keep saying sorry, but I really am."

"No matter how many times you apologize, I'll still say it's alright." Maki whispered as she lightly kissed Nico on the head.

"Aw, how cute."

"N-Nozomi?! How long have you been there for?" Nico and Maki jumped back, their faces fully red.

"I just came in. We're waiting for you guys."

"Oh… come on. Let's go then." Nico got off of Maki.

Once Maki stood up, the three girls headed out of the room. As they were making their way downstairs, Nico hesitantly grabbed Maki's hand. Maki stared at her for a moment, before smiling and grabbing her hand back.

"Alright! Let's go eat!" Honoka yelled as they reached the front entrance.


	9. Chapter 8

After dinner, the group of girls hung out in Honoka's room talking about whatever.

"We should play a game!" Honoka declared.

"Like what?" Rin asked.

"Truth or dare?" Honoka suggested, "or we can play a board game. Or watch a movie…"

"Well, we can try. Everyone, no really personal questions and no outrageous dares, understood!?" Umi stated.

"Hai!" The rest of the girls echoed.

"Who wants to start?"

"Honoka-chan, you suggested it. You should start."

"Okay! Uh, Eli-chan, truth or dare?" Honoka stammered, not prepared to start the game.

"Truth." Eli replied.

"You're boring…" Nozomi whined.

Honoka thought about her question for a while, "Okay, um, what is a secret hobby of yours that we don't know about?"

"There's a reason it's a secret!" Eli stated.

"Please?" Honoka begged.

Eli shook her head, "N-no…"

"Fine. You ask someone then."

"Nozomi, Truth or dare?" Eli turned to face Nozomi.

"Dare."

"I dare you to kiss anyone in this room."

"What type of kiss?"

"Whatever you're comfortable with."

"Alright. Any volunteers?"

No one spoke up. Nozomi smirked and turned to Eli.

"H-Hey, why me?" Eli stammered out.

"You asked for it." Nozomi chuckled as she leaned forward.

Everyone was half expecting Nozomi to go all out on her. At the same time, they were expecting Eli to push her away and run. Instead, Nozomi quickly kissed her cheek and then pulled back.

"Was that so bad?" Nozomi asked, giving an innocent smile.

Eli was blushing insanely. She glanced at everyone and saw them struggling not to laugh.

"Just ask someone the question." Eli mumbled.

"Umi, truth or dare?" Nozomi asked.

"Truth. I don't trust you with a dare." Umi muttered.

"What was the cruelest thing you've ever done to someone." Nozomi asked her, her eyes sparkling with mischief.

"Uh… uh…" Umi mumbled, her eyes wide.

"Come on, Umi-chan. Just answer it."

"Well, I guess it'd have to be this one kid… he was a little too clingy and wanted to date me. I kept saying no and he understood. But, he still did a few things I didn't like. One day I asked him out to prom and promptly dumped him in front of his friends." Umi admitted.

"Wow. That's pretty cruel. But, he kinda deserved it." Rin said.

"I guess…" Umi mumbled.

Honoka gave her a worried look, "Did he retaliate?"

"Yeah. But, he quickly got arrested for it, so…" Umi trailed off, hoping they'd understand she didn't want to talk about it.

"Okay. You don't have to say anything more."

"Thanks…"

"It's getting late. Maybe we should go to bed." Kotori suggested.

"Yeah… I'll go get the blankets!" Honoka jumped up and ran out of her room.

"I'll go and help her. I doubt she'll be able to carry them over by herself." Kotori laughed as she walked out after her.

"I'll be back. I'm going for a walk." Umi stood up and rushed out of the room.

"Do you think we upset her?" Hanayo asked.

"Probably. I think I know why." Maki stood up and headed out, going after Umi.

 **DIVIDER--**

"Umi? Are you okay?" Maki had found her standing outside by a street light.

"Yeah. I'm fine. I just wanted to walk." Umi mumbled, refusing to make eye contact.

"That's a lie. And, I'm sorry. I don't know what happened between you and him, but I can tell it was bad." Maki walked over and stood by her side.

"Can you imagine what those girls would've done to Honoka if we hadn't known?" Umi blurted out, before covering her mouth.

"Umi… what happened? You can tell me. I won't laugh at you or yell. And I definitely won't tell anyone." Maki finally understood what had gone down.

"Him and his friends were pissed and they… they decided to attack me after I left a friend's house late at night." Umi hugged herself.

"You're okay. That's in the past now." Maki hesitantly placed a hand on Umi's shoulder.

"You promise you won't tell anyone?" Umi asked warily.

Maki nodded, "I promise. It's not my place to tell them something like that."

"Thanks… I feel better now that I've told someone…" Umi smiled slightly.

"You never reported it?" Maki asked her.

Umi nodded, "They threatened to kill me if I did."

"Well, I'm glad I could help. We should get back before they worry too much." Maki said as she stepped away to give Umi some space.

"Okay…" Umi mumbled.

The two of them slowly made their way back to Honoka's house. When they got inside, everyone was pretty much asleep. Umi walked over to where Honoka and Kotori were sleeping and laid beside them. Maki sat down beside Nico. She wasn't ready to go to sleep yet.

"Maki-chan? You're back?" Nico mumbled as she sat up.

"Yeah. You're not asleep?"

"I was waiting for you. Is everything alright?"

"Yeah. Everything's fine. I'm going to bed now." Maki laid down and closed her eyes.

She felt something soft being draped over her and opened her eyes.

"You'll get cold without a blanket, you know, you idiot." Nico mumbled as she laid down beside Maki.

Maki chuckled slightly, "Thanks… goodnight."

"Goodnight." Nico replied, burying her face in Maki's hair.

 **DIVIDER--**

The next morning, everyone was awakened by Yukiho pounding on the door.

"If you want breakfast you'd better get up now!" She yelled, before leaving them to decide if it was worth it.

"Honoka, you can't sleep in. We have to go to school." Umi was shaking Honoka, trying to wake her to no avail.

"Honoka, come on. Don't you want breakfast?" Kotori asked.

"Breakfast?!" Honoka shot up at that word.

Umi and Kotori started laughing, waking everyone else up. Honoka was looking confused.

"Come on, let's get dressed and then we can make something." Umi stood up and dragged Honoka out of the room with Kotori following behind.

"She seems better." Eli pointed out, "Did she tell you what was wrong?"

"Yeah, but I can't tell you guys. She's not ready." Maki mumbled as she pushed Nico off of her, "Get off already, Nico."

Nico was still half asleep. She let out a small whine as she fell to the ground. She pushed herself into a sitting position and pouted.

"I didn't wanna get up!" Nico complained.

"Well, you have to. We have school today." Maki replied as she stood up.

"Who ever wants to get changed next can! We'll be making breakfast!" Honoka yelled into the room.

"Rin-chan, will you come with me?" Hanayo asked, standing up.

"Sure, nya!" Rin jumped up and followed Hanayo out of the room.

"Well, Nozomi, shall we go and get changed as well?" Eli asked as she slowly stood up.

Nozomi nodded and the two of them exited the room to wait for Rin and Hanayo to finish up. Maki and Nico were the only ones left who still hadn't gotten up yet.

"Why don't we change in here?" Nico suggested.

"W-what?! No!" Maki's face turned bright red as she frantically shook her head.

"What's the matter? Can't deal with changing in the same room as me? You don't have to look, you know." Nico smirked as she stood up.

"Of course I know that! You're the one who'd look." Maki shot back.

"Come on. Just get dressed." Nico walked over to her bag and pulled out her uniform.

Maki sighed as she did the same. She didn't like this. It felt wrong.

"Well, that wasn't so bad, was it?" Nico asked after they had finished.

"It was!" Maki replied as she headed for the door.

Nico shook her head and followed her down to the kitchen. Everyone else was dressed and waiting for breakfast to be finished.

After they had all eaten, the nine of them set off to school.


	10. Chapter 9

"Okay, that's enough for now. Take a break."

μ's has just finished a rehearsal on the roof. There was an event coming up for the school and they had been asked to perform for the visitors.

"Do you think we'll be ready in time? We only a have a week and it doesn't feel like we've made any significant progress." Kotori asked as they sat in the shade.

"Well, if we can't finish this song, we can always just do an old one. But, I do agree that we don't seem to be getting much better." Umi replied.

"Are we done for the day or are we doing more?" Honoka asked, panting heavily.

"We should stop. It's getting too hot. We don't need someone passing out." Umi stated, passing out water bottles to everyone.

"What are we gonna do for the rest of the day then? It's only been half an hour." Rin asked.

"Let's go get ice cream!" Honoka declared.

"Maybe later. I think they aren't open yet. They had a repairman there this morning." Kotori offered.

"Fine… can we at least go inside? It's hot!" Honoka complained.

"Sure. Let's go cool down." Eli stood up.

Everyone nodded and they filed down into their club room. The weather had been quite unpredictable lately. One day it would rain, and the next it would get really hot outside.

"So, what should we do? We can't just sit here in silence." Nico asked.

"Well we could, but it'd be really boring and kinda weird, nya~" Rin pointed out.

"Anyone have something they wanna talk about?"

Everyone went silent, mostly due to trying to decide if there was anything worth saying to each other. They didn't keep many secrets.

"Well, since no one else will talk, I'll tell you guys about something. A while ago I ran into a really strange kid while walking around." Nico broke the silence that hung heavily in the air.

"Go ahead, I have to say it sounds quite interesting knowing you."

"So, I was bored and decided to go walk around. Along the way, I saw a kid, maybe about six, who was playing on the sidewalk. He didn't seem to be with any of the adults, so I asked him where his parents were. He told me that his mom was shopping and his dad was working, so he would go and play around town. As I got up to leave, he grabbed my jacket and started screaming. People were looking at us like we were insane. Eventually, I managed to get this kid off of me. Someone asked what happened and this idiot had the audacity to try and say I had attacked him. Well, she believed him, so I ran and didn't look back." Nico shared.

"Nico-chan, why do you think he did that?" Honoka asked.

"Looking for attention, probably. Sounds like his parents weren't too enthused to have him." Maki mumbled.

"Yeah. He might've been trying to have some fun, but just didn't know a way to do it." Hanayo added.

"I never have been back that way since then. I've seen that woman a few times and she glares." Nico muttered, "I can't believe she would just think he was right. There wasn't even a bruise on him."

"People tend to instantly believe kids." Nozomi pointed out.

"But, as much as I hate to admit it, I didn't look too much older than him. This kid was big." Nico mumbled.

"No tolerance fighting?" Umi suggested.

"That's probably what it was." Kotori agreed.

"I guess." Nico accepted it.

"Is there anything else to do?" Honoka whined, before she was hit by Umi.

"Stop whining all the time. You're nearly an adult." Umi scolded.

"Umi-chan, that's not very nice to say." Kotori stated, resting her head on the girl's shoulder.

Umi's face started turning red, "K-Kotori-chan?"

"Yes?" Kotori asked innocently.

"W-what are you doing?" Umi stammered out.

Kotori chuckled, "Nothing. Is there a problem?"

"Kotori, stop teasing the poor girl." Nozomi giggled.

"Alright. I'll stop. For now." Kotori slowly moved away from Umi, enjoying the sight of the normally strict girl being so bashful.

 **DIVIDER--**

After a few more boring conversations, they decided to head downtown and find an ice cream place.

Honoka smiled cheerfully as she savored the ice cream in her hand, "This was a good idea. It's a nice day to do something like this."

"What're you talking about? I'm dying from that walk!" Nico mumbled as she wiped sweat from her face.

"Maybe you should've wore something lighter." Maki muttered, tugging on the jacket Nico was wearing to prove her point.

"Fine… hold this." Nico gave her ice cream to Maki and took off the jacket and tied it around her waist.

"Happy now?" Nico mumbled as she took her ice cream back.

"I'm sure Maki-chan would be even happier if you took off more." Nozomi chuckled.

Both Nico and Maki went bright red, "W-what?!"

"N-no! That'd be worse!" Maki quickly protested.

Nico just remained silent. Her face was still a bright red, but she didn't protest what had been said.

Nozomi tilted her head, "Nico-chi? Are you doing to say anything?"

"Huh? Oh. Uh, it's obvious she doesn't want that, so no." Nico quickly spouted out.

"Oh, I see how it is. You want it to be the other way around, right?" Nozomi said.

"No! I don't want that! That's out of the question!" Maki protested first.

"Nozomi, Leave them alone. You'll draw attention." Eli nudged her gently.

"Alright. I don't want you guys to be too embarrassed."

 **DIVIDER--**

"Maki-chan? Can I ask you something?"

"Sure."

Nico has invited Maki to go hang out at the park for a while to get away from the others.

"Why can't we tell your parents?" Nico asked.

Maki sighed, "They think it's wrong."

"Why?"

"I wish I knew…" Maki sighed.

Nico sighed as well, "What would happen if they found out?"

"I'm not sure… I don't think my mom would really mind. It's my dad I'm worried about. He's a little too overprotective." Maki mumbled.

"Well, don't worry too much. They won't find out." Nico reassured her.

"I'm not too sure about that. What if at the performance someone tells them?" Maki worried.

Nico thought about it for a moment, "Well… you have eight people to back you up. Don't worry too much."

"Alright. I'll try not to." Maki smiled at Nico.

Nico smiled back, "You seriously should smile more."


	11. Chapter 10

"Everyone ready?"

The day had arrived. They were going on stage in about twenty minutes.

"Maki-chan isn't here yet." Rin stated.

"Neither is Nico-chan." Kotori pointed out.

"Where on earth are they?! We're going on soon." Umi muttered.

"I'll go look for them!" Honoka said as she dashed out of the room.

"Let's hope she finds them fast." Umi mumbled.

 **DIVIDER--**

Honoka slowed her pace and carefully looked around the school. The hallways were pretty deserted except for the ones leading to the auditorium. Honoka dashed through the halls, trying to avoid drawing attention.

She exited the building and looked around. She didn't see either of them yet. Honoka decided to head to the parking lot incase they had just arrived.

"What's your problem!? Why is it such an issue!?"

Honoka stopped. The voice sounded familiar, but she couldn't figure out who it was. She decided it had to be either Maki or Nico and headed off in that direction.

"You're a disgrace! I can't believe I had a kid like you! Actually, I don't have a kid. You're dead to me!"

Honoka was growing quite concerned as she reached the area she heard the shouting coming from. She froze once she saw the scene.

"Hey! Leave her alone! She did nothing to you!"

"Get off of me, you brat!"

Honoka gulped as she started running over to them. She was really scared. The guy attacking them was pretty scary.

"H-Hey! Get out of here before I call the cops!" Honoka yelled, hoping that would distract him if it couldn't deter him.

"Fine. Don't think of coming back home and staying. You can get your things and that's it!" The guy stormed off.

Honoka stood completely still until the guy had driven away. After she was sure he was gone, she went over to where the two girls were sitting.

"What was that about? And who was that?" She asked as she sat beside them.

"That was my dad…" Maki mumbled.

"Why was he yelling at you? Uh, if you don't mind telling me…"

"He doesn't like us dating." Nico spoke up after Maki didn't say anything.

"Well, screw him. You don't need people like that in your life." Honoka stood up and held out her hands.

"But… he's my dad. I can't just get rid of him." Maki whispered.

"Sure you can. Never talk to him again. Show him you hate him too." Honoka explained.

"That won't be that hard, after all. You can't stay at home anymore." Nico pointed out.

"Yeah, but where the hell do I go now?" Maki asked.

Nico smiled, "Well, you can live with me. I finally got a new apartment."

"You sure?" Maki asked warily.

"Yeah!" Nico confirmed.

Honoka pulled the two of them to their feet, "That settles it then. Now let's go. The show is starting soon."

The three girls dashed off into the building. They made it with five minutes to get ready for the show.

"Are you okay to perform? You don't hurt anywhere?" Nico asked as she hesitantly entered the area Maki was dressing in.

"I'm fine. It's not bad." Maki replied as she turned around to face Nico, "What about you?"

"I'm fine." Nico nodded, "Do you think we should tell everyone what happened after the show?"

"We have to explain why we were late, so yeah."

"Alright. Let's go." Nico took Maki by the hand and they walked out to where everyone else was waiting.

"Get in position. One minute." Umi stated, drawing back the curtain so everyone could head onto the dark stage.

 **DIVIDER--**

After the song ended, they were greeted with cheers and applause from the audience. They held hands and bowed twice before heading off the dimming stage. They all headed to go change into something to wear home. After that was done, they sat around on the floor and spoke about how awesome the show was.

"Oh, by the way, why were you guys so late?" The dreaded question was asked by none other than Umi.

"Well, uh, we got into... an argument with someone…" Nico jumped quickly into an explanation.

"About what?"

"Uh…" Nico didn't know if she should be the one to tell them.

"My dad doesn't like people like me and Nico, and well, he found out about us…" Maki whispered, realizing Nico wasn't going to answer it for her.

Everyone gave her sorrowful looks, "What did he say to you?"

"He told me I'm dead to him and I can't live at home anymore." Maki mumbled after a few minutes of silence.

"It's alright though! She's gonna live with me!" Nico stated to ease some of the concern.

"Are you mad at your father?" Eli asked.

Maki shrugged, "I don't really know what I feel. If I'm honest with you, I don't care too much. He's always had a grudge against me doing things he didn't approve of."

"So, what are you going to do now?" Kotori asked.

Maki sighed, "Well, I'm going to go get my stuff and leave."

"Do you want help?" Hanayo asked.

"Sure… if you want to…" Maki mumbled, playing with her hair.

They all decided to head over with her just incase something bad were to happen. When they arrived, the house was dark.

"He probably didn't want to be around when I came back." Maki muttered at she unlocked the door and walked inside.

"He left a note." Rin stated as she held up a piece of paper that had been lying on a table in plain sight.

 _I left five boxes in your room. Whatever fits you can take. Don't use anymore boxes or I will track you down._

"That's a nice message to leave." Umi muttered as she took it from Rin and threw it in the trash.

The nine girls headed up to Maki's bedroom. Just like the note had said, five boxes of various sizes were waiting inside the room.

"Well, what do you want to take? We can all help so we can get out of here faster. I don't fancy meeting your dad."

"Uh… I guess my clothes and the stuff I have on my desk. Anything else isn't as important." Maki replied.

 **DIVIDER--**

It only took them ten minutes to pack up as much as they could. A few items they couldn't fit, someone carried. They loaded them into Eli's car.

After that, they arrived at Nico's apartment and started unloading everything into the hall. Afterwards they all sat in the living room and talked.

"It's getting late. We should get going. Let us know if you need anything guys." Umi stood up and drug Honoka away with Kotori smiling innocently as she followed.

"I agree, nya! Let's go home Kayo-chin!" Rin got up and started tugging Hanayo out the door.

"I guess we'll head out too. See you tomorrow." Nozomi said as she and Eli left the house.

Nico and Maki started at each other for a while. Neither seemed to know what to say.

"Should we go to bed?" Nico asked.

Maki nodded, "Yeah. Sure."

"I'll show you your room." Nico stood up and grabbed Maki's hand.

"Nico-chan, I was wondering if we

could stay together for the night… only tonight though! Don't take it the wrong way!" Maki said.

Nico chuckled, "Alright, my tsundere. Let's go."

"I'm not a tsundere!" Maki protested.

Nico took her to her bedroom and they sat on the bed. After a few minutes, Nico started dozing off on Maki's shoulder.

"Let's go and lay down." Maki stated as she pushed Nico off her should.

Nico fell into the bed. She looked at Maki expectantly.

"What?" Maki asked.

"Aren't you gonna lay down too?" Nico replied.

Maki sighed and crawled into the bed beside Nico. Nico snuggled close to Maki, earning a string of protests for a short while. Nico had enough and silenced her with a long kiss.

When she pulled away, Maki stopped protesting and huffed instead. Nico shook her head and went back to snuggling close.

She expected Maki to pull away and turn around. When that didn't happen she looked up. Maki was fast asleep already.

Nico smiled slyly as she gave Maki a few quick kisses before going to sleep herself. Before she dozed off, she pulled the blanket over them, knowing they'd be cold in the morning without it.


	12. Chapter 11

Friday had come slowly. They decided to not have any practice for the day. Honoka, Umi, and Kotori were sitting outside the school on the lawn, talking excitedly.

"That's not funny, Honoka!" Umi yelled, flustered.

Honoka and Kotori burst out laughing as Umi's face turned more and more red by the second. Umi tackled them to the ground and then they all started laughing. Students walking by looked at them as if they were insane.

Hanayo and Rin were standing by the front entrance, looking at something on Rin's phone and laughing about whatever it was they were looking at.

"Where did you find something like that?" Hanayo asked Rin.

Rin looked away, "Uh… I don't remember."

"Rin-chan? What's wrong?" Hanayo pressed.

"Nothing! I'd just rather you didn't know where it's from…" Rin mumbled.

Nozomi and Eli were nowhere to be seen outside. Instead, they had decided to hang out in the school, hiding in the hallway where no one went. They were discussing a plan they didn't want anyone to know about. Eli wasn't too into the plan, but she decided to just go with it.

"Are you sure about this?" Eli asked for probably the tenth time.

Nozomi nodded, smiling slyly, "Yes. I'm very sure about it."

Nico was sitting by herself, humming a song. She was waiting for Maki to come back. Maki had been pulled away by a classmate to be interviewed as part of a project.

A few minutes later, everyone started heading into the classrooms. Nico frowned. Maki still hadn't come back yet. Nico headed off in the direction she had vanished in. As she was walking, the student who had pulled her away went by.

Nico picked up her pace and turned the corner of the school. Maki was sitting against the wall, her face in her knees. As Nico drew closer, she heard quiet, muffled sobs coming out.

"Maki-chan?" Nico called quietly, not wanting to startle her.

Maki slowly lifted her head to look at Nico, who had knelt in front of her. Nico tilted her head slightly as she brought her hand up to Maki's eyes and wiped away her tears.

"What's wrong?" Nico asked as she pulled Maki into a hug.

"He's going to ruin my life…" Was all Maki said.

Nico knew who she was talking about, "How is he going to do that?"

"Read this." Maki handed her phone to Nico.

Nico glanced over the messages. After a minute or so, she handed it back to Maki, not saying a word.

"Let's go to class. I think that's something everyone needs to know about." Nico said as she stood up, holding out a hand to Maki.

Maki took a few shaky breaths, trying to calm herself down. After she calmed enough, she grabbed Nico's hand. The two of them walked into the school holding hands. They got a few stares here and there, but a quick glare from either one of them stopped it.

"See you later." Nico dropped Maki off at her classroom and then headed to her own.

Along the way, she ran into Nozomi and Eli. There was an awkward tension in the air as they silently walked to class together. Nico couldn't help but wonder if they had been discussing something about her before she showed up and interrupted them.

 **DIVIDER--**

After they were dismissed for lunch, Nico quickly dashed off to go find Maki, leaving a confused Eli and Nozomi behind in the classroom.

"What do you think she's up to?" Eli asked.

Nozomi shrugged, "Whatever it is, it must be important."

"Do you really not know or are you just not telling me?" Eli pushed.

"That's a secret." Nozomi smiled slyly.

Eli shook her head, "Still being like that, huh? Would it kill you to tell me the truth once in a while?"

"You used to be like that every day." Nozomi pointed out.

"Yeah… But that's not a valid excuse." Eli stated firmly.

"Alright, alright. I know what the issue is. But, it's better you hear it from them instead of me." Nozomi held her hand up in a fake surrender.

Eli sighed, "Fine… let's go. Everyone will be wondering where we are."

 **DIVIDER--**

"Maki-chan!" Nico caught her right as she was about to leave the classroom.

"What?" Maki questioned.

"Can we talk quickly?" Nico asked.

Maki nodded, "Sure. But it better be quick."

"It will," Nico promised.

The two of them walked over to the bathroom and sat against the wall. Most students didn't use the bathrooms in the halls and instead would use the nicer ones closer to the entrance.

"What is it?" Maki asked.

Nico sighed, upset that Maki wouldn't take time to enjoy them being alone, "Well, are you okay with telling everyone now? Or do you want to wait?"

"I'd rather you tell them… I don't think I can finish without…" Maki trailed off.

"That's fine. But, now or later?" Nico gave her a reassuring smile.

"Now… they'll know something's up." Maki replied.

Nico nodded and stood up, "Let's go then. They'll be wondering what we're doing."

Maki stood up and followed Nico as they headed over to where μ's was eating. Everyone stopped talking and started at the girls as they sat down.

"What?" Nico asked, narrowing her eyes.

Umi gave her the same look back, "Why are you guys late?"

"We were talking about something." Nico replied defensively.

"Umi-chan, stop harassing them." Honoka begged, tugging on Umi's arm.

Umi sighed, "Only this once."

"Anyway, there's something we need to talk about." Maki cut in.

Everyone looked at Maki, "What is it?"

"Nico-chan…" Maki whined.

"I'm the one who's explaining. Look at me." Nico stated firmly.

Everyone shifted their games off of a flustered Maki to Nico. Nico took a deep breath and though quickly of how to explain the issue.

Everyone stared at her intensely, waiting.

"Uh… Can I have your phone, Maki?" Nico whispered into Maki's ear.

Maki nodded and quickly unlocked her phone and handed it to Nico, who examined the message again.

"Well, it's about her dad…" Nico started.

 **NOTE--** **Updates will be slower now that I have reached the end of the already written parts. Normally 1 chapter per week is my uploads.**


	13. Chapter 12

"Well it's about her dad…" Nico started, "He's started harassing her."

Nico held up Maki's phone and let everyone read the messages that had been sent. After a few minutes, she handed it back to Maki, who quickly turned it off and shoved it in her bag.

"Maki-chan, don't worry too much. I doubt that'll change much." Honoka was the first to try and lighten the mood.

"Yeah! There's a lot of idols out there who are out! They got good reactions so I think you'll be fine." Hanayo burst out quickly.

Nozomi nodded, "It won't change much. If anything, it'll help get rid of the so called fans that have issues with stuff like this. I think it's a win either way."

"I guess…" Maki mumbled.

"He's a coward, honestly. Can't even face you and say it anymore." Umi spat out.

"Umi, if he did, it might not end very well… for me..." Maki stated.

"Would he really go that far?" Umi asked, quite clearly shocked.

Maki nodded, "He's very firm about everything being only how he thinks it should be. Anyone who steps out of his line isn't welcome near him."

"Even in the hospital!?" Honoka interrupted.

"Kind of. He gives them worse treatment and makes them wait longer." Maki explained, "Same goes for the staff."

"Well then. Looks like we may end up having to fight with him one day." Eli pointed out.

Maki shrugged, "I guess so…"

"We better hurry up. Class is gonna start soon." Rin pointed out.

"Meet in the club room after school. Let's see if he's done it by then." Umi stated as they got up to leave the courtyard.

Everyone said some form of, "Okay!" and headed back to their classrooms to learn another lesson.

 **DIVIDER--**

After they had been dismissed from the last class, everyone headed over to the club room as planned. Hanayo was at the laptop first, quickly going onto the website μ's had created about two months ago when they decided to be more interactive with their fans. She went to the discussion board tab and started scanning through the posts.

Since they had last checked, there had been hundreds of new comments. It was gonna take a while to sort through all of them. Hanayo sighed as she continued to search for the one they were looking for.

"He better have posted. I don't want to do this for nothing." She stated.

"I agree. Leaving an empty threat like that wouldn't help him much." Umi nodded.

After that everyone waited in silence as Hanayo was busy looking. Honoka, Kotori, And Rin were sitting at the table, watching Hanayo. Nozomi was standing off to the side by the cabinets, glancing at everyone occasionally. Umi, Eli, Maki, and Nico were hovering behind Hanayo as she was searching.

After a few minutes, they found what they were looking for. Hanayo hesitated clicking on the post. After a few seconds, she reluctantly did so and brought it up.

"Wow… already almost 200 comments on his post." Umi whispered in shock.

"What did he write?" Honoka asked, jumping up from her seat, only to be pulled back down by Kotori.

"There's something you guys should all know about two of your so called 'idols'. Maki Nishikino and Nico Yazawa are gay and are dating each other. I thought you'd like to know." Hanayo read.

"Wow, such a polite tone for him." Umi sneared.

"I bet he was fuming while writing it but didn't know how not to be so rude it wouldn't post." Kotori added.

Maki chuckled darkly, "It's just like him to do something like that."

Maki took a deep breath and slowly grabbed Nico's hand, holding it a bit too tightly. Nico gripped back, hoping it would help a little, even if she was in pain from the grip Maki had on her.

"You said almost 200 people replied to it, right? What are some responses?" Nozomi asked.

Hanayo hesitated, before she finally clicked on the comments and scanned through them, looking for some that were meaningful and not stupid replies found on every post. After a little she stopped scrolling.

"I can't believe it! Two of my favorite idols are gay!? Yes!" Eli read one.

"Well, someone is very happy about it, huh?" Rin chuckled.

"Yep. Most are like that too. And then, there's the reason it has so many comments. He started fighting with someone." Umi sighed.

"I assumed that was probably the reason." Maki stated, "Most posts never get that much unless an argument starts."

"What exactly are they fighting over?" Nico asked as she leaned forward to see the messages.

"Seems like the other person called him out on being a jerk and a homophobe." Hanayo concluded.

"Yep. That's what it's about!" Nico declared.

"So, what now? No one seems angry over it." Honoka asked.

"Just continue like normal? Unless something starts up, why should we change what we do?" Eli suggested after a few minutes of silence.

"I agree. There's no point in starting more drama." Nozomi said, "Let's avoid that if we possibly can."

"Well then, shall we go get ready for practice?"

"Hai!"

 **DIVIDER--**

"He's such a jerk."

"I know. Who does that to someone?"

"And also who is he?"

"Well, I think it has to be someone who is close, or that was close, to them."

"Maybe a parent or relative? Maybe even a sibling?"

"Perhaps. Though I feel parent is the right choice."

"Should we really be getting involved? We might draw unwanted attention toward them."

"Yes, we should. We're friends aren't we? Let's show them some support. And plus, it's not like any of us are different from them."

"Hey! It's just a coincidence that we're all gay!"

"I'm just messin' with ya. I think it's awesome we're all gay."

"Do you think any other members of μ's are gay?"

"I know who you wish was gay."

"H-hey!"

"Stop teasing her. We need to focus."

"Alright. What should I write to them?"

 **DIVIDER--**

 **Any idea who the mysterious girls are? I'll give you a hint: there's 3 girls talking.**


	14. Chapter 13

The next morning, everyone had been woken up very early, for the weekend, by Hanayo texting them that they needed to meet up and talk about something. Everyone confirmed they'd be willing to meet up that day and decided that they'd get together at 10 at Honoka's house, incase she didn't wake up after going back to bed. And that way, it gave everyone enough time to get a shower and have something to eat before it.

So by the time it was 10 minutes past the hour, everyone had arrived at Honoka's. She had only woken up a few minutes prior to the first knock and looked a mess. But, everyone was fine with that. It was expected of her.

"So, what's with the urgent text, Hanayo?" Eli asked after they had all settled into Honoka's bedroom.

"Honoka-chan, can you get your laptop?" Hanayo asked.

Honoka nodded and grabbed it from the corner of the room where it was charging. She logged into her account and gave it to Hanayo, who then opened up to the website of μ's and went back to the discussion.

"I was bored last night and went on here. The messages on that post have doubled." Hanayo explained as she searched for it, "I think you'll be surprised by why."

"Another fight?" Kotori asked.

Hanayo shook her head, "Nope. No more fights. At least on that one."

Everyone groaned, knowing that a fight had erupted on another post. It wasn't uncommon for fans to start debates. But, some went too far and then they had to be banned from the site. It was a tedious process to ensure they couldn't make fake accounts and continue.

"Then what is it?" Honoka was getting impatient as usual.

Hanayo turned the laptop so everyone could see, "A-Rise commented on it."

"What?!"

"What did they say?" Nico demanded, upset that she was stuck in the back and not able to see the screen.

"Congrats you two! A-Rise is happy for you! We're on your side if you need any help with that guy. Best of luck!" Umi read.

"Wow… they…" Nico mumbled, unable to believe that it was true.

"A-Rise supports you guys. That's amazing!" Rin smiled with joy.

Honoka tilted her head to the side, "I didn't know they made an account on here."

"Maybe they just did. This is the first time they've said anything on here." Nozomi pointed out, "You don't need an account to view the page."

"Maybe. But that's kinda creepy now that I think about it. They've might've been stalking us." Kotori said.

"I doubt they'd do much with anything we posted on here. I'm more worried about the people we don't know." Eli replied.

"I guess that's true." Kotori agreed.

"So, what should we do? Should we say anything to them?" Hanayo asked.

"Honoka, you have Tsubasa's number, don't you? Why don't you thank her there. I don't think we should post it publicly. We should be trying to make the post die, not give it more life." Nozomi suggested.

"Sure! I can do that!" Honoka jumped up and grabbed her phone off her bed.

She opened up to her messages and then paused to look at everyone, "What should I say exactly?"

"Maki, Nico, you decide. You're the ones who need to be thanking them." Eli stated.

Maki and Nico stared at each other for a while. Neither was sure what to say. And with the pressure of everyone staring at them, it was hard to think.

"Um… how about 'Thanks for your support. It means a lot. We'll keep you guys updated on any issues we need help with.'" Maki suggested sheepishly.

Honoka typed it in as Maki spoke then looked back up to confirm if she should send that. After getting the okay, and Umi checking to make sure she spelled everything right -which she didn't-, she sent it.

"What shall we do now? She probably won't reply really soon." Honoka asked.

"Why don't we go for a walk to the park?" Rin suggested.

Everyone agreed to that. Honoka grabbed some clothes and sheepishly snuck away to the bathroom to go get dressed. The other eight girls went down to the shop and waited for her to change.

After around five minutes of waiting, Honoka came running down the steps, nearly tripping over her feet in the process. When she reached the ground, she accidentally bumped into Umi. Umi shook her head at the out-of-breath girl who started backing away slowly.

"Sorry, Umi-chan…" Honoka mumbled, rubbing her head with a hand while giving a lopsided smile.

"Watch where you're going next time." Umi scolded her.

"Now, now, no need to start fighting." Kotori stepped between them.

 **DIVIDER--**

After sorting out that issue, they headed out the door. Umi was leading them with Kotori only a step behind. Honoka hung a little bit back from them. After the scolding, she wasn't willing to make Umi even more mad.

Rin had dragged both Maki and Hanayo ahead of the group. They had probably reached the park already. Rin was really excited to go so she ran. Maki and Hanayo could barely stop themselves from tripping as they were pulled along at Rin's fast pace. The six others enjoyed the sight and had chuckled about it after they had vanished from sight.

Nico was getting pushed along by Nozomi, who had refused to let her be at the back. Nico had protested to no avail. She tried slowing her pace in hopes that she and Eli would just go ahead, but Nozomi, smiling mischievously, would give her a quick shove to keep her in pace.

Nico looked to Eli for help, but she just shrugged and gave her a look that said 'I don't think anything will stop her, sorry'.

Nico grumbled quietly as she picked up her pace to match Honoka's. Honoka was staring at the ground, kicking pebbles around. She didn't seem to notice Nico had started walking beside her.

 **DIVIDER--**

"You guys are finally here! You took forever!" Rin launched herself at the six girls as soon as they entered the park.

"Maybe if you hadn't run off, you wouldn't have had to wait so long." Maki muttered, obviously not pleased at being drug across town by Rin.

Rin ignored her, or maybe didn't hear it, and proceeded to jump around everyone. After a few minutes, she calmed down.

"So, what should we do here?" Hanayo asked.

"Let's have a race!" Rin said.

"NO!" Everyone yelled.

Rin pouted, "Why not?"

"How about tag?" Hanayo suggested, "It's not as competitive."

"Alright. We can play tag."

Honoka declared that she wanted to be the tagger first. Everyone had a five second head start before Honoka came after them. She easily caught up to Hanayo and tagged her before sprinting off in the other direction.

Hanayo was having issues catching everyone. To be nice, Umi slowed down and let Hanayo catch her. She then targeted Kotori.

 **DIVIDER--**

After playing around for a while, they were all exhausted and hungry. They lounged around the park for a bit, catching their breath.

"What now?"

"Let's go eat! I'm hungry!"

"That sounds good."

They got up and headed down to a cafe they frequently went to after practice. Everyone got their normal snack and then they sat outside to eat and not crowd the inside.

After they finished, everyone said farewell and went back to their respective houses.

"Where have you been?" Yukiho questioned as soon as Honoka entered the house.

"Out, why?" Honoka asked.

"You said you'd help with the shop today." Yukiho reminded her sternly.

Honoka chuckled nervously, "Yeah… uh… sorry?"

"Don't bother. I'm going to do some homework." Yukiho shook her head as she walked away, mumbling under her breath, "You're hopeless sometimes, Honoka."

Honoka stuck her tongue out at her receding figure before marching up to her bedroom. She collapsed on her bed and was about to fall asleep, until her phone buzzed. She picked it up and looked at the message she had been sent.

"I knew it!" Honoka shouted in excitement.

"Knew what?" Her mom's voice sounded from out of her room.

"Uh… I can't tell you. It's a secret." Honoka stammered, not sure how well it would go if she told.

"Oh, it's that type of stuff. Alright, just tell them to be safe." Her mom said.

"Do you know who it is?" Honoka questioned.

"No. But I can guess it's some of your close friends."

"You're right about that."

Her mom then headed downstairs, heading to clean up the shop. Honoka stared at the message for a while, not sure how to respond.

"What was with the yelling?" Yukiho popped her head in the room.

"Umi texted me… she finally has admitted she likes Kotori!" Honoka told her excitedly.

"Well then. What did you say?"

"Uh… I don't know what to say… I feel I'll sound rude."

"Just say you wish her luck or something and that you won't tell."

"Okay! Thanks!"

Honoka did just that after she left. And then she went to take a nap. After 20 minutes, she was woken by her phone ringing. Honoka sat up and looked at the number.

Once she saw who it was, she answered quickly, "Sorry! I was asleep."

"I've been calling you for the past five minutes." Umi's angry voice sounded from the other side.

"Heh… sorry. Why are you calling?"

"I need your help… how do I confess?"

 **DIVIDER--**

"Guys! Come here!" Tsubasa charged into the room A-Rise was currently practicing in.

"What? What's the issue?" Erena asked as she stood up for the ground where she had been stretching.

"Come here!" Tsubasa stated again.

After Anju and Erena had gathered beside her, she showed them.

Tsubasa shoved her phone toward them, "Look. They thanked us!"

"Since when did you get her number?" Anju teased.

Tsubasa turned bright red, "Uh, well, uh, we kinda just wanted to, uh, stay in touch so we exchanged numbers…"

"Jeez, you're such a bad lier." Erena shook her head.

"Fine. I might've just asked it out of the blue. But, she said yes and told me we should stay in touch!" Tsubasa defended.

"Why don't you just admit it?" Anju asked casually.

"Anju, now is not the time." Erena warned.

Tsubasa didn't reply. She was trying desperately to stop her face from getting any redder than it was.

"Come on! Let me have my fun!" Anju whined.

"Girls, why aren't you stretching?" The president of the student council walked in.

"Sorry! We were talking!" They quickly went to stretch.


	15. Chapter 14

"Are you sure this is a good idea?"

"How many times are you goin' to ask me that?"

"I just really don't feel like this is a good idea…"

"Elichi, I told you already, you don't have to help me if you don't wanna."

"I'm not letting you do this alone, Nozomi!" Eli stated.

Nozomi giggled, "Then stop questioning me and hurry up."

The two girls headed up to Eli's bedroom. Once there, they locked the door and sat on the floor.

"I really don't like this… aren't you being too pushy?" Eli asked, watching as Nozomi started digging through her bag.

"I'm not doing anything yet. I just want to show you what I plan to do." Nozomi explained as she pulled out her phone.

"Are you certain it won't have any other side effects?" Eli asked, her eyes filled with worry.

"It won't. I would never do this if I felt they'd be in danger. And I'd never force someone to do something they didn't want. The cards told me to do this, Elichi. Surely that will convince you." Nozomi was getting a bit fed up, but stayed smiling and acting happy as could be. She would never be able to forgive herself if she snapped at Eli.

 **DIVIDER--**

"Hey! You're late!" Umi glared at Honoka as she skidded to a stop beside her.

"Gomen, my mom needed help setting up the store." Honoka apologized.

"You could've texted me! I've been waiting here looking like an idiot!" Umi scolded.

Honoka took a deep breath before replying, "If you want me to help, stop yelling at me. I can leave right now if I want to."

Umi was taken back by Honoka's statement. She wasn't expecting her to say something like that. Normally, she'd just shrug it off and move on.

"Look, I'm not in a good mood right now. I'm sorry. Can we go now?" Umi forced out an apology.

"What's wrong?" Honoka asked.

"Family issues. Can we go now?" Umi repeated.

"Yeah. Let's go." Honoka nodded and they set off to go to a small hideout that they (Honoka, Kotori, and Umi) made one summer.

"By the way, I invited someone else to meet us there." Honoka mumbled quietly, not sure how Umi would react.

"Who?" Umi demanded.

"It's not Kotori-chan, I promise. I just thought you'd like advice from someone who knows more about love." Honoka stated.

"Who is it?" Umi stopped walking.

"Umi-chan, come on! Why do you need to know so badly?" Honoka asked, getting a little frustrated.

Sure, Umi was stubborn at times. Honoka knew that better than most. But, Umi wasn't being her normal stubborn. She was being way too stubborn.

"I'm not going anywhere until you tell me." Umi stated firmly.

Honoka sighed, "It's Nico-chan, alright. Let's go before she gets mad too."

Umi started walking again. She felt kinda bad. She knew very well that she was taking her frustration out on Honoka. But, she couldn't tell her why. She wasn't ready for anyone to know what was going on in her personal life.

But she still wanted help with Kotori, so she mumbled out another apology and left it at that.

 _Why did she suddenly admit her feelings and want to confess?_ , Honoka wondered as they silently walked through the woods, _And why is she being so harsh today?_

"Where were you?! You said be here ten minutes ago!" Nico was mad as Honoka predicted.

"We got held up by some crowds." Umi lied quickly before Honoka said something moronic.

"Why did you call me out here, Honoka?" Nico accepted the explanation and got back to the important topic.

"Well, I wanted your help… Umi-chan, uh… can I tell her?" Honoka asked, not wanting to make Umi too uncomfortable.

Umi didn't reply right away. She wasn't sure if telling Nico was the best idea. Umi was worried she'd tell Kotori without her permission.

"Uh… there's someone I like… and I want to… tell them. But, I don't know how to…" Umi managed to mumbled out, hoping Nico wouldn't ask who and would just help her.

"Oh. So you finally admit you like Kotori, huh?" Nico sneered.

"Y-you knew…" Umi was starting to get flustered.

"Well, it's obvious. You two act so lovey-dovey all the time. Kotori can make you blush so easily and you won't say no to her. Everyone knows, Umi. And we're all fine with it. And, don't tell her I told you, but Kotori admitted that she liked you to me and Eli a few weeks ago." Nico explained, keeping her tone even, knowing Umi was very uncomfortable with how the situation was playing out.

"Will you help me? Or are you going to ruin it?" Umi questioned.

"Jeez, I wouldn't ruin this for you! I'm gonna help. And if you want, I bet Rin, Hanayo, and Maki would help too." Nico replied, letting it be obvious she was "offended" that Umi would think she'd tattle to Kotori.

"What exactly do you have in mind?" Umi was suspicious.

"Well," Honoka mumbled, "we were thinking of doing a little scavenger hunt. Kotori would be asked to meet someone in the club room and then we'd give her a riddle for what room to go to next and a hint as to why we're doing this. If she figures it out, we could bring her to you on the roof early."

"Alright. That'll do. But, who's gonna be helping?" Umi asked.

"Everyone but Nozomi-chan and Eli-chan. They're busy planning something exciting. Well, that's what they said." Honoka answered.

"When are we doing it?"

"Tomorrow?"

"Okay. Let's gather everyone then."


	16. Chapter 15

"Why'd you call us here, Honoka-chan?" Hanayo asked.

"Well, uh, I was hoping you guys would help out with something." Honoka explained nervously.

"And what exactly do you want us to do?" Maki questioned, getting suspicious.

Honoka chuckled nervously, "Um… Umi-chan wants to confess to Kotori-chan."

"Wait. What?"

"Yeah… please don't ask why…" Umi mumbled, blushing.

"What are we going to do to help?" Rin asked.

"Well. We have a longer lunch tomorrow so we were gonna do a scavenger hunt until it leads her to Umi." Nico explained simply, not wanting Honoka's long explanation she gave to them earlier.

"So, you mean we have to guide her around school until she reaches Umi?" Maki asked.

"Yeah. You'll give her a question or a riddle and if she gets it you let her go to the next room. We're gonna tell her it's because of a confession, so ask if she knows who it is. If she does, take her to Umi-chan on the roof." Honoka confirmed.

"Okay. Is everyone in?" Nico asked the three first years.

They all nodded, eager to finally get Umi and Kotori together. After only a week of meeting them, everyone knew they liked each other.

"Good. Let's get planning!"

 **DIVIDER--**

"Why can't we just leave them alone?"

"I don't know exactly why, but I do know a temptation will soon be encountered and unless they get closer, it will break them."

"It's at times like these I wish your cards were wrong sometimes."

"I wish the same thing. But, we have to figure this out now that there's no work around." Nozomi stated softly.

"Are you sure this is the only way to test it? Can't it be done without a spell?" Eli asked, her fingers tracing over the sheets of her bed nervously.

"I don't know how much time we have left. It has to happen soon." Nozomi replied, "I wish I could know more, but the cards only tell so much."

"It's not your fault. Now let's think about how to do this. That's why you're here after all." Eli quickly changed the subject back.

"Okay. We have to wait a few days to do it, though. Apparently Umi is confessing to Kotori tomorrow. Everyone else is helping with it." Nozomi explained as she pulled out a small book.

"Really? After all this time? But why does she need that much help?" Eli asked.

"They're going a bit overboard with the confession, I believe." Nozomi answered.

"Sounds like a Honoka plan to me." Eli chuckled.

Nozomi giggled as well, "I'm sure it was, Elichi."

 **DIVIDER--**

~The Next Day~

"Everyone ready?"

"Hai!"

"Go to your spots. She'll be at her locker soon."

As everyone dashed around to the empty rooms they were to stay in, Kotori opened her locker and found a letter. She opened it and read the note over a few times.

 _Dear Kotori,_

 _I think it's about time I tell you this. I love you._ _You probably don't know who am I just from this letter. Go to your club room and you'll get a clue._

 _From, Unknown_

Kotori slowly headed over to the club room, note in hand. She opened the door and walked inside.

"Good afternoon, Kotori-chan! I assume you got the letter?" Honoka was waiting in there for her.

Kotori nodded, "What's this about?"

"We thought we'd have some fun with this. So, do you know who it is?" Honoka explained.

Kotori shook her head.

"Well, I guess I'll send you to the next stop. All these rooms mean something, by the way. The next room is a place of freedom and loneliness." Honoka told her.

Kotori gave her a confused look, "Huh?"

Honoka shrugged, "You have to figure it out."

"Is it the music room?" Kotori asked.

Honoka nodded, "Yep!"

"Okay… I guess I have to go there?"

"Yes."

"Bye?" Kotori said as she headed out of the room and down the hall.

She walked in the music room and was greeted by Rin.

"Any idea who it is yet?" Rin asked.

Kotori though for a few minutes, before shaking her head.

"Okay. Well, the next room is a room filled with excitement and boredom." Rin stated.

"Auditorium?" Kotori guessed.

Rin nodded, "Yep! Good luck, nya!"

Kotori sighed as she started the walk to the next location. She pondered who it could be as she went.

"So, music… they have something to do with it… and what could the club room mean? Is it someone in μ's then? And auditorium… uh…" Kotori mumbled as she walked into the room.

"That didn't take long." Maki was waiting there on the stage.

"What does the auditorium mean?" Kotori asked.

"Oh. Uh, I guess I can tell you. It's an intimidating place." Maki replied hesitantly.

"How many people are left?"

"Hanayo and Nico are left."

"Do I have to go?"

"Unless you guess right or you don't want to know, then yes." Maki stated.

"Is it Umi-chan?" Kotori quietly asked.

Maki didn't give her any confirmation, "Any reason for guessing her?"

"She and Honoka-chan left class really quickly and if she isn't helping…" Kotori explained.

"Well, you're right. She's on the roof waiting." Maki told her.

Kotori quickly turned and left the auditorium. She headed for the stairs and ran up them. She was nervous.

As she reached the top, she slowed and hesitated. After a moment of preparation, she bravely opened the door and walked out. Umi was standing at the end of roof staring down at the courtyard.

"Umi-chan?" Kotori called as she approached her.

Umi turned around, "That's was fast."

"It would've taken longer if I wasn't told who was helping. It left you as the only choice." Kotori explained.

"So… I…" Umi didn't know how to continue.

"I love you too." Kotori whispered as she lightly pecked Umi on the cheek.

"W-would you… be my… girlfriend?" Umi stammered out.

Kotori smiled and nodded, "Of course, Umi-chan."

After that, they walked back to the club room where everyone would be waiting. They entered hand in hand and announced the good news.


	17. Chapter 16

"So, time for our plan." Nozomi giggled.

"You find this enjoyable, don't you?" Eli sighed.

"Maybe." Nozomi stated innocently.

"So, can you explain it again. Simpler this time, please." Eli asked.

Nozomi nodded, "I'm gonna put a small curse on Nicochi. She's going to have bad luck all day until the person she loves the most besides family assists her three times."

"So, if she truly loves Maki, then it'll break after the third time?" Eli asked, making sure she understood.

Nozomi smiled, "Yep! And if not… we'll have to make them get... closer."

"And what exactly are you thinking of?"

"Your mind is going to naughty places, isn't it? That may be an option, but I don't want to make them do it without wanting to."

"Can we just cast the spell already?"

"Sure." Nozomi nodded and grabbed the paper the spell was written on.

 **DIVIDER--**

The next day, Nico was indeed having very bad luck. It started with her falling off the bed as she woke up and then messing up making cereal of all things.

"Are you alright?" Maki was growing concerned as Nico fell while trying to put on her shoes.

"Y-yeah… help me up, would you." Nico replied, holding out her hands.

Maki grabbed Nico and helped her to her feet.

"I swear to God, if Nozomi is to blame…" Nico muttered as they walked to school.

Once they safely reached the school, Nico stormed off to find Nozomi and demand an explanation. Maki shook her head at her girlfriend and then went over to join her fellow first-years at the gate.

"What's up with Nico-chan today?" Hanayo asked Maki.

Maki shrugged, "I'm not sure, but she thinks Nozomi made her have bad luck."

"Can Nozomi-chan do that, nya?" Rin asked.

Maki shrugged again, "I don't know. I still don't really believe in that stuff she does anyway."

"Should we go inside and make sure she's okay? You did say she wasn't having a good day, right?" Rin asked.

"I guess we could. But, why do you care?" Maki replied.

"I wanna see if it's true!" Rin declared.

"Fine. Let's go." Maki muttered as the three of them headed into the school.

Nico and Nozomi were standing to the side of the hallway. Eli was on the other side watching them.

"You did something! I know it!" Nico was yelling at Nozomi, who was just smiling innocently.

"Whatever are you talking about, Nicochi?" Nozomi asked, keeping on her innocent smile.

"You made me have bad luck!" Nico stated closing more distance between them until she was nearly touching the taller girl.

"I did no such thing. Why would you think it would be me?" Nozomi pouted, faking crying.

Nico sighed, "Nozomi! I know you're behind this! Now cut it out and stop it!"

"Even if I did do it, I wouldn't stop it." Nozomi replied.

Maki darted forward and grabbed Nico as she tried to lunge at Nozomi, who had started walking away with Eli at her side.

"Calm down. You'll draw attention." Maki hissed.

"B-but-" Nico started to protest, before getting cut off as Maki gave her a quick kiss.

"Leave it. She won't admit it anyway." Maki stated.

"Fine. I'll let it go. But you better help me when something happens." Nico demanded.

Maki nodded, "I will if I can."

Hanayo and Rin secretly gushed over the two of them being so lovey with each other in public. That wasn't something that would happen much.

 **DIVIDER--**

Throughout the day, Nico still had bad luck. But, mysteriously it stopped by lunch. Nico was still glaring daggers at Nozomi as the nine girls sat together to enjoy their lunches.

"Did you stop it? Had enough of me nagging you?" Nico still firmly believed Nozomi was to blame.

"Did it stop? I told you, Nicochi, I have nothing to do with this." Nozomi replied, giving her the smile she often used to feign innocence.

"I will get you to admit it was you!" Nico declared.

Nozomi giggled, "What if I just said that now? Would that please you?"

"You won't. I know it." Nico stated firmly.

"Why wouldn't I? Does it matter that much if I'm not sincere?" Nozomi asked.

Nico glared at her, "I give up!"

The rest of lunch was quiet. But, Nico still occasionally felt the need to glare at Nozomi, who pretended not to notice.

 **DIVIDER--**

"So, it worked then?"

Eli and Nozomi were chatting in the Student Council room. The one place they thought that they should be able to openly talk about the episodes of today.

"It seems like it. Nicochi knew instantly it was me? Was I that obvious?" Nozomi asked.

Eli nodded, "Well, I mean, you are the only one who really dabbles in that stuff. It shouldn't be that surprising that she figured it out."

"Yeah. That is true." Nozomi agreed.

"So, any new info?" Eli fiddled with a stack of papers, trying to fix the jumbled mess they had ended up in.

"It was you, huh? You might wanna not talk about that so openly." Maki entered the room.

Eli glanced her way, "Were you spying on us?"

"No. I was passing by and I heard you guys!" Maki defended, becoming flustered by the accusation.

"Well, I did do that. But, it was for a good reason, trust me." Nozomi said, walking over to Maki and pulling her in the room while shutting the door.

"Are you going to explain the reason or just leave me to guess?" Maki asked as she was forced into a chair beside Eli.

"I can't really explain much. All I can say is that something is going to happen in the near future. It's going to be you and Nicochi who have to deal with it. So, be careful. I don't know what is going to happen exactly." Nozomi warned her.

Maki sighed, "More… why can't everything just be normal?"

"I think we all wish it could be normal." Eli cut in.

"Well, I guess we'll have to wait and see what happens next, then, won't we?" Maki asked.

"That's all we can do." Nozomi agreed.


	18. Chapter 17

A few days went by without any issues. Maki had started doubting that Nozomi really knew anything bad was to happen.

"Class, this is Anika Soji. She'll be joining us for the rest of the year." The homeroom teacher for the first-year class announced.

"Nice to meet you all!" Anika stated as she cheerfully took a seat.

 **DIVIDER--**

After class, everyone had met up in the club room, except for one.

"Where is Nico?" Umi demanded.

Everyone shrugged, not knowing the answer.

"I'll go find her…" Maki sighed, knowing she'd be the one they chose anyway.

She got up and headed out of the room. She had no idea where to really start, so she just went to some places where Nico liked to hang out.

As Maki approached the room where the third-years had their classes, she heard whispering.

"Why not? It wouldn't hurt if no one finds out. Please?"

Maki couldn't deny that the voice belonged to the overly enthusiastic new student she had met earlier in the day.

"I refuse."

The other voice was Nico's. Maki wished it wasn't. She had no idea what they were discussing, but she had a feeling that this was what Nozomi had predicted.

"I can give you everything she can't. Why won't you come with me?"

"I won't do that to her."

Maki crept closer to the room. She was hesitant to burst in and demand an answer. What if she was mistaken? She'd make a fool out of herself.

"Please? Just one day?"

"N-no!"

Maki peaked in through the window and saw a scene she never wished to have seen. Anika was leaning over Nico, their lips nearly touching. Nico was frozen in shock, unable to react properly as the younger girl pressed their lips together.

Maki backed away. She knew Nico hadn't agreed to it. She had hope that Nico would storm out. But as she waited, it didn't happen.

Maki peaked in again to see that the kiss had become more intense. But, she could also see the disgust filling Nico's face as it happened.

Any normal girl would have stormed in and broken up by now. But, Maki preferred to observe before reacting. Now that she had her answer, she opened the door.

"Ah, M-Maki-san!" Anika stammered as she pushed herself off of Nico, who quickly put distance between them.

"Get out of here, you bitch." Maki growled as she walked over to Nico and pulled her closer in a possessive manner.

"Hmpf. Well, I'll let you decide what to take from this then." Anika stated as she walked out, her head held high.

"M-Maki, it isn't what it looks like!" Nico quickly stated, pressing herself closer to Maki.

"I know. I watched it go down. That's why I yelled at her and not you. I'm not angry at you, I'm angry at her." Maki replied.

Nico wrapped her arms around Maki, "I'm sorry I didn't stop her…"

"It's fine. She shouldn't have forced herself on you." Maki stated, hugging Nico back tightly.

"Maki?" Nico asked as the taller girl refused to let go after a few minutes.

"Just a little longer?" Maki mumbled, still refusing to let go of Nico.

 **DIVIDER--**

"Ara~" Nozomi chimed as she looked at a card she had drawn moments ago.

"What?" Everyone was a little concerned, knowing how some of Nozomi's predictions went.

"I can't say. It's not something for you to know." Nozomi said, smirking slightly as she leaned over to Eli and whispered something in her ears.

 **DIVIDER--**

"Alright. Let's go to the club room." Maki sighed as she finally released Nico from her grip.

The two of them walked hand in hand through the hall. Along the way, they did see Anika again. She simply huffed and stormed off, seeing that her plan to break them up had failed.

"Hey! One minute." Maki chased her down.

"What?" Anika snapped at her.

"Did my dad send you to do this?" Maki demanded.

Nico watched them talk from a distance. She couldn't hear what they were saying, but she could tell it wasn't a pleasant conversation.

"Maybe he did." Anika huffed as she walked away again.

Maki glared at her receding figure, before calming herself and going back to where Nico was standing. She said nothing as they walked back to the club room.

"We're back!" Nico announces as she plopped down in her seat.

"What was keeping you?" Umi demanded.

"Well, this girl wanted to talk… it took a lot longer than I thought it would." Nico stated, lying only slightly.

"Anyway, let's get to work." Umi brushed off her response and got up.

 **DIVIDER--**

"Hey, you still seem kind of grumpy." Nico sat down beside Maki as she did her homework.

"Do I?" Maki asked doubtfully.

"Yeah. What's bothering you? Are you still upset over that?" Nico pushed.

"Maybe…" Maki didn't really confirm if that was the case.

Nico sighed as she pulled the textbook away from Maki and set it on a table, "Come on. Can I do anything to help?"

Maki didn't reply right away. And when she did, it wasn't through any words.

Maki pulled Nico into a hug, pressing her face against the older's neck.

"M-Maki?" Nico stammered out, shaken from the sudden boldness of the normally shy girl.

"You're mine." Maki stated simply, continuing with her actions casually.


	19. Chapter 18

**Warning: This is just a sex chapter. Skip if you don't like that stuff.**

 **DIVIDER--**

"What are you doing?" Nico stammered, tensing up her body.

Maki pulled away to look Nico in the eyes, "I'm not allowed to show you love?"

"Huh?!" Nico's face became bright red as she realized what Maki was implying.

"Am I not allowed? You can say no. I won't be mad." Maki asked.

"N-no… you can… just, you couldn't have given me a warning?" Nico stuttered out, trying to calm her flushed face.

"Sorry… I just got ahead of myself." Maki stated, pressing her face back into Nico's neck.

She felt Nico tense slightly. Maki licked her neck once. Nico shivered against her touch. Maki paused for a few seconds, before going back. This time, she bit Nico slightly. The older let out a moan, before quickly covering her mouth with both of her hands.

Maki bit into Nico's neck a bit harder and deeper. Nico tried her best not to let out any noises. It was embarrassing to her.

"Come on. Let me hear you." Maki whispered in Nico's ear as she slowly slid a hand up to her cheek.

Nico shook her head. Maki frowned slightly. She grabbed Nico's hands and removed them from her mouth. Before Nico could protest, Maki kissed her. While she occupied Nico, Maki used her other hand to start removing Nico's shirt.

She pulled away from the kiss for a moment, dragging Nico's shirt over her head, before tossing it to the side. Nico blushed intensely as Maki leaned back in to kiss some more. Her hands went behind Nico's back, fiddling with her bra hook. It took only seconds before she got it off.

Nico covered her breasts with her arms, her face rivaling Maki's hair. Maki took off her shirt, hoping it might ease Nico's embarrassment a little. Nico hugged Maki. That was just a distraction so that she could undo her bra as well. Soon enough, both girls were left with just some pants and underwear on.

"Just tell me if it's too much…" Maki whispered as she brought her face down to Nico's chest.

She gripped one breast in her hand and slowly traced her fingers over it, causing Nico to shiver. Maki didn't wait long before starting to lick around the nipple, teasing Nico.

"M-Maki…" Nico let out a tiny whine.

Maki smirked secretly as she gave one quick lick to the nipple. Nico shivered from the touch. Maki started sucking on it very lightly.

"Maki… please…" Nico was getting a bit impatient with how slow it was progressing, but she didn't want to take control yet. She wanted to let Maki have her way since she was the one who started it.

Maki pulled away, "Keep complaining and I'll stop."

"S-sorry…" Nico mumbled as she relented to suffering through the teasing.

Maki went back to what she had been doing, but this time going a bit rougher. Her one hand gripped the breast she was sucking on, while the other was starting to slowly remove the sweatpants Nico had on.

The older gave her little resistance, only occasionally flinching as Maki's cold hand touched her warm skin.

"May I?" Maki paused, her one hand now right beside Nico's underwear strap.

Nico gave her a small nod, fearing if she spoke, she wouldn't be able to hold back her moans anymore. Maki slid two fingers under the strap and tugged them down to Nico's ankles. Now being completely naked, Nico was even more flustered than before.

"Do you want to take mine off?" Maki whispered into Nico's ear as she started preparing herself for what she was intending to do.

"Y-Yeah…" Nico stammered out quietly as she pushed Maki down to make the job easier.

It only took what seemed like seconds for Nico to remove Maki of the rest of her clothing. Once she was done, Nico sat back and waited in anticipation and fear for what Maki decided to do next.

"A-are you okay with doing it?" Maki stuttered out, her face starting to rival her hair.

Nico nodded, "Just go slow…"

"I will." Maki promised.

She pulled Nico back into a kiss, distracting her from the fact that Maki's other hand was slowly traveling down her body to that area. Maki teased her by rubbing just a few centimeters away from the sensitive spot.

"Maki…" Nico let out a small moan as they pulled away from the kiss for air.

"Are you ready?" Maki asked as she nibbled lightly on Nico's earlobe, earning a few soft moans in response.

"Yeah…" Nico confirmed as she readied herself for the intrusion.

Maki slowly inched her hand down until it was touching Nico's clit. She paused for a moment, causing Nico to look at her in a confused manner. Maki pulled her hand away.

"Uh… maybe we shouldn't do that dry… especially if it's your first time…" Maki explained her actions.

"Oh. Yeah…" Nico nodded, agreeing with her.

Maki pressed two of her finger against Nico's lips. Nico seemed understand as she allowed them inside her mouth. Nico ran her tongue over them, making sure they'd be wet when they were pulled out.

While she was doing that, Maki had pressed her face against Nico's forehead, littering tiny kisses across it. After a few minutes, Maki pulled away and removed her fingers from Nico's mouth.

"Ready?" Maki asked again, her hand sliding down Nico's frame.

Nico nodded, "Yeah…"

"Tell me if you want to stop. Don't force yourself to do something you don't like." Maki told her.

"I will," Nico promised.

Maki took a silent deep breath before pushing one finger into Nico's vagina. Nico let out a yelp. Maki paused and looked at Nico, waiting for a signal on what she should do.

"I'm fine… it's just, surprising…" Nico mumbled.

Maki slowly started thrusting her finger in and out, making sure not to go too fast until Nico got used to it. Nico covered her mouth with her hand again, trying to block out the moans she was making.

"You don't have to muffle them. No one can hear it but us." Maki pouted.

Nico reluctantly removed her hands, "You sure?"

"Yes. Only us two can hear any of this. You don't need to be embarrassed." Maki confirmed.

"O-okay…" Nico brought her hand down to the bed, gripping the sheet tightly as Maki started to spread up her thrusts.

"M-Maki? Can you slow down. I-I'm already…" Nico mumbled out quietly.

Maki removed her fingers and sat back for a little, allowing Nico some time to calm down. Neither of them wanted this to end quickly.

After a few seconds, Nico sat up. She leaned forward and kissed Maki. She slipped her tongue inside and it met with Maki's. They pulled away after a few seconds, needing to breathe.

"Can I…?" Nico asked, but was unable to finish her question.

Maki nodded after a moment of thought, "Sure…"

Nico hesitantly flipped their positions around. Maki was now the one lying on the bed. Nico started off massaging Maki's breasts, before deciding to lick them over thoroughly. The younger girl let out a few small moans as Nico did so.

Nico started to slide a hand down Maki's chest and to her crotch area.

"Can I do it?" Nico asked.

Maki gave her a small affirmative nod, "Go ahead."

Nico slid one finger in. She didn't bother lubing, as Maki was already wet down there, just as Nico was. Maki arched her back a little as Nico started to slowly thrust in and out like Maki had done prior.

Maki let out moans every now and again, not attempting to hide them as Nico had. Nico sped up her movements, assuming Maki was enjoying it.

After a few minutes, Nico abruptly stopped and pulled her fingers out. Maki gave her a puzzled look.

Nico moved her face down so it was level with Maki's private area. Maki blushed as she understood what Nico was planning to do.

"May I?" Nico asked, making sure she got permission before doing anything more.

Maki nodded, "Y-yeah… just, not too fast…"

"I'll go slow." Nico promised as she got ready.

Nico gave Maki's clit a quick lick. Maki let out a startled yelp. Nico paused for a moment so that Maki could gather herself again. After that, she went back and started licking it again. Maki squirmed a little as Nico did so. It definitely was a strange feeling.

"N-Nico… I'm… I'm close." Maki panted out after a few minutes.

Nico pulled for face away, "Can I continue or do you wanna stop?"

"C-continue…" Maki mumbled out quietly.

Nico nodded and decided to go back to fingering her. It didn't take too long before Maki was at her climax. And it definitely didn't take too long for her to ejactulate.

Nico pulled her fingers, which were covered in Maki's juice, out and she sat back. Maki slowly moved herself into a sitting position. Nico looked at her fingers that had been coated. She stared at them for a moment, before putting them in her mouth.

"W-what are you doing?!" Maki, being still a little innocent, was shocked and confused about what Nico did that for.

"Seeing what you taste like." Nico answered, a small smirk dancing across her face, "That's what most people do."

"They do?" Maki wasn't sure if Nico was messing with her or telling the truth.

Nico shrugged, "Uh… at least that's what I heard they do…"

Maki chuckled a little as she pulled Nico into a hug. The older girl relaxed against Maki.

"Can I do it to you now?" Maki asked as she nuzzled her face into Nico's hair.

Nico gave her a small nod, "Yeah. Go ahead."

Maki pulled Nico into a deep kiss as she guided her to lie down on the bed. Nico complied and didn't fight against Maki's movements.

Maki slipped a hand down to Nico's crotch and started to tease her by rubbing just around her sensitive spots. Nico let out a small whine, but didn't try and stop her. Maki pulled away from the kiss and took that moment of distraction to stick a finger into Nico's vagina.

Nico bit back a moan as Maki started to thrust in and out, her speed increasing every thrust. It wasn't long before Nico felt herself reaching her max. Right before she felt it was going to happen, Maki pulled out.

Nico gave her a betrayed look. She knew Maki could tell just how close she was to climaxing. Maki just smiled innocently as she lowered her face down to Nico's vagina. Nico braced herself as Maki parted her opening with two fingers.

Maki waited for a few moments, before she quickly started pushing her tongue in and out. Nico let out a small squeak as Maki did so. She hadn't been expecting that.

Maki soon stopped and left her tongue inside and let it explore. She could taste Nico's juices before they exited her body. And, Maki had to admit it wasn't a bad taste by any means.

It only took a few minutes for Nico to orgasm and squirt all over Maki's mouth. Maki pulled away, licking around with her tongue to clean off her face. Nico was panting on the bed, clearly tired out from that.

"Are we done?" Maki asked. She was ready to finished, but if Nico wanted to do something more, she wasn't opposed to it.

"I wanna try one more thing." Nico mumbled as she sat up.

Maki tilted her head, "What is it?"

"Can we try, rubbing our areas together?" Nico asked a bit shyly.

Maki thought for a minute, "Is that even possible?"

"Yeah. I'll show you." Nico stated, and did just that.

After lining their bodies up Nico explained how it was done. After that, they both started grinding on each other until they came again. After that, they called it a night and snuggled up, naked, under the covers.


	20. Chapter 19

"I wanna get revenge on her."

"Nico, why? Is it worth it, honestly?"

"Yes it is, Maki. She needs to be shown she can't mess with me." Nico declared.

Maki shook her head at Nico. After they had woken up and gotten dressed, Nico had decided that now as the time to discuss payback for the spell.

"What the hell are you even thinking of doing?" Maki sighed.

Nico shoved a paper in her face, "Get her and Eli together."

"And that is punishment how?" Maki asked as she examined the paper.

Nico shrugged, "Well, I was thinking of embarrassing them during it."

"No. You shouldn't do that to someone." Maki sternly told her.

Nico pouted, "Why not?"

"Would you want them doing that to us?" Maki asked.

"Nozomi did! She teased us about confessing and told everyone!" Nico defended.

"That's different. If it's around μ's then that's fine. But you can't do it in public." Maki stated.

Nico sighed, "Fine… I'll change the plan… I'm still getting them together, though. I'm sick of seeing them act so lovey-dovey and yet deny they love each other."

"You sure this is punishment?" Maki asked again.

"I'll make it a punishment somehow!" Nico declared.

Maki shrugged, "I want nothing to do with it."

"Why not?!" Nico pouted.

She had been hoping Maki would agree to help her. At least then she couldn't be the only one who got punished if it was found out.

"I see no reason to do anything. You can do as you please by yourself." Maki reasoned.

"Fine. I'll do it myself." Nico stated.

 **DIVIDER--**

Nico put her plan into action at school. While in the club room, Nico made a few comments about Nozomi and Eli flirting or giving each other that look. Umi scolded her quite badly for being so shameless.

Then as they were heading to class, Nico snickered at how they were holding hands like a couple would. Eli got mad and chased Nico off.

The two of them refused to talk to Nico after that. That wasn't the best considering they were partners on a project.

Halfway through class, Eli left to use the bathroom. Nico tried to no avail to get Nozomi to talk to her. She wouldn't even look at Nico.

"Nozomi, come on. I was just messing with you guys. I'm sorry if I upset you." Nico had no option but to apologize for her behavior earlier.

Nozomi still wouldn't respond. Nico sighed and was going to give up.

"Do you love her?" Nico didn't think it was the best question to ask, but she tried anyway.

"I'm back." Eli came back and interrupted them.

"I hate this project…" Nico muttered as she rested her head on the table.

"Everyone does." A kid on the floor next to them answered.

 **DIVIDER--**

"Maki, I need your help." At lunch, Nico tracked down Maki.

"With what?" Maki asked suspiciously.

"I might've messed up… Nozomi won't talk to me now. I apologized to them and Eli forgave me, but Nozomi won't even say anything. What do I do?" Nico confessed.

"I suggest getting her alone somewhere she still has an option to leave and try. If she leaves don't chase her. But, maybe if you're alone she might talk." Maki suggested, "If she won't by tomorrow, I can try and figure it out."

"Alright. I'll try that." Nico agreed.

 **DIVIDER--**

Nico managed to somewhat corner Nozomi in the bathroom after school. The two of them were the last to change, so she had a chance.

"Nozomi, why won't you talk to me?" Nico asked as she made sure to keep some distance between them.

Nozomi finished changing and walked away without a word. Nico followed after her at a distance.

"What's your problem? I said sorry. I didn't think you'd react like that." Nico was desperate to get her to talk.

"Leave me alone." Nozomi stated, "I don't want to talk to you."

"Please. What did I do? Tell me that at least." Nico begged.

Nozomi shook her head and sped up. Nico didn't change her pace.

"What do I do?"

 **DIVIDER--**

At practice, Nico tried to talk to her as they and Rin were taking a break. Nozomi wouldn't respond. She just stared out at the sky.

"If you won't talk, then fine. I'll leave you alone." Nico finally gave up.

Maki kept giving the two of them worried glances. She noticed Eli doing the same. They ended up taking a break together, so Maki decided to try and see if she knew anything.

"Eli? Can we talk?" Maki sat beside her.

Eli nodded, "Sure. What is it?"

"Well… do you know why Nozomi won't talk to Nico?" Maki asked after a few moments.

"You've noticed it too? I don't have an answer unfortunately. She seems fine around everyone else." Eli replied.

"I hope it doesn't last. The last thing we need is them to stay that way." Maki mumbled.

"I hope it doesn't as well. It's a bit concerning." Eli agreed.

 **DIVIDER--**

"Nozomi, please! Just tell me what I did?" Nico had managed to get another chance as they were heading out.

"Leave me alone, please. I have nothing to say to you." Nozomi stated as she started walking away.

"Why do you hate me now!?" Nico lunged forward and grabbed Nozomi. She knew she shouldn't trap her, but knowing she would speak occasionally made it worth it.

"I don't. Let me go." Nozomi tried to remove her arm from Nico's hold, but couldn't do it unless she used force.

"I hate you! I want to make up to you and you just push me away! I won't ever talk to you again then!" Nico let go and turned around. She still had to wait for Maki to leave.

"You don't mean that, do you?" Nozomi asked, her voice wavering slightly.

Nico turned around, "What if I do?"

"I-I…" Nozomi had nothing to say.

"I hate your stupid little attitude. Grow up and stop being a baby!" Nico stated as she glared at Nozomi.

"I'm sorry… I shouldn't have wasted your time…" Nozomi turned around and left.

Nico didn't move. She was happy she had told her off. But then she started to wonder if maybe she was too harsh. Nozomi did seem pretty hurt by those words.

"She was crying… fuck!" Nico smacked herself at her stupidity.

Nico texted Maki quickly saying she needed to do something and then set off to go after Nozomi. She caught up to her by the school gates. She was sitting on a bench, her head between her legs as she curled up on the bench.

"Nozomi? I'm sorry… I didn't mean it, honest. I… I understand if you hate me now… I deserve it. I'm sorry for being so mean." Nico said as she stood beside the girl, who was quietly sobbing.

"I'm sorry… I'm the one who started it…" Nozomi mumbled as she moved her head so she could see Nico slightly.

"No. It's all my fault. I shouldn't have teased you guys." Nico refused to let Nozomi blame herself for any of it.

They waited in silence for a little. Neither of them knew what to say.

"Nozomi?" Eli appeared a few minutes later.

"Hey, Elichi…" Nozomi mumbled, lifting her head up.

"Are you alright? Eli asked as she moved closer.

"I'm fine. You don't need to worry." Nozomi reassured her.

"Why are you out here?" Eli sat beside her.

"It's my fault. I yelled at her." Nico admitted.

"You did?" Eli glared at Nico, making sure she knew how much she despised that.

"It's alright, Elichi. She apologized." Nozomi stated.

Eli sighed, "Alright. Shall we go home?"

"One more thing." Nozomi sat normally.

"What is it?" Eli asked.

Nozomi smiled as she gave Eli a kiss on the lips, "I love you."

Eli blushed profusely, "W-what?"

"I love you. And I mean it seriously this time." Nozomi stated.

"Why are you saying this all of a sudden?" Eli asked.

Nozomi glanced over at Nico, "I think it's time we admit it."

"Fine. Well, Nico, you're the first person to know now." Eli chuckled.

"So, are you guys dating now then?" Nico asked.

Nozomi and Eli looked each other, before looking back at Nico and nodding. Nico smiled slightly.

"Well, congrats. I better go. Maki is probably ready to kill me." Nico waved goodbye and headed back to the school.

And Maki was, until Nico explained why she left. Then Maki was a little upset at Nico for doing that.

"Did you get your revenge?" Maki teased as they headed home.

Nico shook her head, "No. But I'm okay with that. I'm glad they're together now."


	21. Chapter 20

The next day was interesting, at least to Nico. Eli and Nozomi didn't announce they were dating to anyone. So, life just went on as normal. They had morning practice and then went to class.

"Why haven't you guys said anything?" Nico couldn't stand it any longer and needed to know why they were being so secretive.

"I just don't feel ready to tell them." Nozomi explained.

"Oh. Okay. Is there any reason why?" Nico was a bit confused. Everyone in μ's would obviously be okay with they were gay. For heaven's sake they had her and Maki and Kotori and Umi.

"No."

"Well, you do you. I'm not gonna say anything. Though, Maki knows as well." Nico shrugged.

"She does? How?" Eli asked.

"Well, when I went back to meet her, I had to explain and I told her." Nico explained, glancing over to see Nozomi's reaction.

"What did she say?" Nozomi asked.

"Uh… kinda yelled at me for a bit and that was it…" Nico mumbled, rubbing a hand over her neck as she gave a lopsided smile.

"You deserved it, didn't you?" Eli asked, giving her a smirk.

"Maybe?" Nico mumbled, glancing at the floor.

The two other girls burst into giggles. Nico turned red with embarrassment.

 **DIVIDER--**

When lunch came around, they finally told everyone the news. It was met with plenty of happy responses.

"Wow, isn't it weird how almost all of us are dating someone else in μ's?" Honoka asked, her eyes sparkling with joy. From what? No one really knew.

"A-actually... Uh, Rin-chan and I also started dating a while ago… we just never told anyone." Hanayo mumbled.

Rin nodded to confirm, "Yep!"

"So, Honoka is the only one who isn't dating a member in μ's?" Kotori asked.

"Yeah." Honoka chuckled.

"You like someone, don't you?" Umi gave her a suspicious look.

"Maybe?" Honoka mumbled, diverting her gaze.

"Ooh, who is it?" Rin asked excitedly.

"N-no one in particular…" Honoka's face slowly started to grow red.

"Why won't you tell us?" Kotori asked.

"I-i… it's Tsubasa, okay? I guess I kinda like her…" Honoka mumbled out, feeling uneasy with all the pressure on her.

"So that's why you have her number, isn't it? I've seen you texting her quite often recently as well." Umi stated.

"N-no! We have each other's numbers because we just wanted to stay in touch!" Honoka defended.

"We all know that isn't true, Honoka. Don't try and lie." Umi warned, much to everyone's amusement.

"Well, that might've not been the reason, but that was what we said." Honoka mumbled.

"Did you tell her you like her?" Nozomi teased.

"N-no!" Honoka went wide eyes as she frantically shook her head.

"Why not?"

"I… I don't know if she likes me back. I don't want to ruin everything…" Honoka replied.

"Come on! Live a little, Honoka."

"I don't know…" Honoka sighed, "I'm not the best at this."

"We can't force you to do it, but I think you should try." Umi said.

"Alright. I guess I can try…" Honoka mumbled as she took out her phone.

 **DIVIDER--**

"Hey, I'm gonna go on a walk. I'll be back later." Maki stated as she peaked her head into the living room where Nico was working on some homework.

"Okay. See you later." Nico replied, not picking her gaze up from the paper in front on her.

"Did Honoka say if she got a reply yet?" Maki asked.

Nico shrugged, "She hasn't texted us."

"Okay. See you!" Maki put on her shoes and headed outside.

Nico sighed as she stretched and pushed her homework away for a bit. She had only been doing it because Maki yelled at her for not doing anything. Nico stood up and decided to make herself something to drink and eat.

Not knowing how late Maki would end up being, Nico didn't make anything for her. She could wait a few minutes after she came home for her to make something.

As she sat down to eat, her phone turned on as a notification flashed on the screen. Nico grabbed her phone and looked at it. A few members had started chatting in the group chat. Nico opened it up and scrolled to the first message sent that evening. It was Kotori asking Honoka is she had made any progress.

It appeared as thought she did, Nico realized as she scrolled through the conversation. The response was positive and it looked as though they were nearly dating now.

Everyone was pestering her as to why she would ask that. Honoka replied that she didn't know how to put it. So, everyone, well, everyone but Maki and Nico were replying to give her ideas. Nico just watched them in amusement as they kept arguing.

After what seemed like ages, Honoka had chosen her response. It was the one Eli had suggested. She said she sent it and everyone waited to see if she'd reply soon. Nico glanced at the time and realized almost an hour had passed. She glanced at her notifications to see if Maki had texted her saying she was going to be home later. But there was nothing, so Nico sent a text asking just that.

In that time, Honoka had texted everyone and said that her and Tsubasa were now officially dating. Everyone sent some form a congratulations to her. Nico noted that Maki hadn't read the conversation since she didn't reply.

Nico was growing a bit worried as she still received no response. She decided to try calling. But, much to her dismay, she heard Maki's phone ring from upstairs, showing she hadn't taken it with her.

"Calm down, Nico. She probably just decided to stop somewhere and look at things. She'll be home soon." Nico tried to convince herself.

She soon went to bed, hoping she'd hear that door open soon. But, by midnight, it was very clear something was wrong. Maki hadn't come back yet. Nico forced herself to get some rest and worry about it in the morning. There wasn't anything she could do this late anyway.


	22. Chapter 21

When Nico woke the next morning, she was expecting, well, more like hoping, that Maki would be either asleep beside her or in her own room. Nico instead woke to silence, something she was not used to. Normally Maki would wake before her and be in the living room watching TV.

Nico slowly forced herself to get out of bed and leave the room. She walked around the house, checking for signs of Maki, She came up empty though. It had seemed as though Maki had just vanished.

Nico dreaded what she would have to do if she couldn't find Maki. She grabbed her phone and texted the others, hoping one of them might know where Maki was. But, much to her dismay, no one had any idea where the girl could be. Everyone seemed to be just as concerned as Nico was.

"Oh, Maki, where on earth are you?" Nico mumbled as she nervously paced around.

She desperately wanted to go and search for her, but she knew it wouldn't be a good idea to do that alone. As much as Nico didn't want to admit it, she had very little hope that Maki was safe. Nico couldn't help but start to wonder if someone had kidnapped her.

 _But, who could that have been,_ Nico wondered.

"Her dad." Nico decided, "He did something to her. I'm gonna kill that bastard if I find him!"

Nico calmed herself as she went to get ready for school. It was no use trying to solve anything without help. She knew better than to rush into something as serious as this. It could end very badly for her or for Maki.

 **DIVIDER--**

"Still no Maki?"

Once Nico arrived at the school gate, she was met with the other seven members. They all had hints of worry on their faces. Everyone knew something was going on.

"No… I think her dad did something to her." Nico gave her theory.

"Why do you say that?" Honoka asked, "Sure he doesn't like her, but why would he do that?"

"I don't know, but who else could it be that we know of? If it isn't him, then that means we have no idea who hurt her." Nico sighed.

"What can we do?"

"Well. Unfortunately, you can't file a report until at least three days. So, we'll just have to try and find her ourselves." Eli stated, a frown appearing on her face.

"Alright. Let's do that!"

"After school, idiot."

"Okay…"

 **DIVIDER--**

After school the eight girls met up outside of the school. They were talking in hushed whispers about the plan they were attempting to make.

"If any of us show up, he's gonna know. If he truly has Maki-chan, she could get hurt. We have to be very secretive." As usual, Umi took charge in forming the initial plan.

"How can we do that?" Rin asked.

"Maybe if we can time it so no one should be home, we might be able to get a closer look." Nico suggested.

"That could work, but do we know of they'll both be out?"

"Well, only one way to find out. Let's go spying!"

"Is that legal?"

"I don't know why you'd even think it would be."

 **DIVIDER--**

They decided that four of them would spy on the house and four would be on standby if anything happened. They didn't have any idea how this would end up going.

The group spying consisted of Nico, Eli, Umi, and Rin. The other four, Nozomi, Kotori, Honoka, and Hanayo, were at the park waiting for any texts or calls from the others.

"Are they even home now?" Rin asked, getting inpatient with having to hide in a bush.

"Yes. I saw them pass the window a few seconds ago." Umi replied.

Umi and Eli were watching to interior through windows. Umi and Rin were in the front of the house and Eli and Nico were on the opposite side.

Rin felt her phone buzz and pulled it out, "Nico texted."

"What does it say?" Umi asked, not taking her eyes off the house.

"She said it looks like they're not leaving anytime soon." Rin sighed.

"Well, if it gets dark, we'll have to leave whether we have evidence or not." Umi stated.

"Do you really think Maki-chan is here, nya?" Rin asked.

Umi shrugged, "I don't know. That's why we're here."

They fell into silence for a while. No movement came from the windows they could see. It was looking hopeless.

Rin's phone buzzed again. She pulled it out and started reading it. She didn't say anything to Umi about it for a few minutes.

"Maki-chan is here. They heard her." Rin eventually told Umi.

"Why did you hesitate?" Umi asked her, finally turning to look at Rin.

"It wasn't very pleasing sounds they heard from her…" Rin mumbled, "They heard yells of pain."

"Tell them to head to the park. Let's group up." Umi told Rin as she stood up and snuck out of sight of the house.

Rin followed her while texting Nico back. They hurriedly walked across the town to the park. The sun was starting to go down. Soon it would be dark.

Now all they had to do was figure out a way to get Maki out and away from them again. That could be a bit challenging. Going to the cops could go bad. After all, they did just stalk them to find out Maki's whereabouts.

They had to do this alone. No one could help them. So now the only question was how to do that. How could they get inside without being noticed?


	23. Chapter 22

"So, what did you find out?" Once everyone was gathered at the park, they started the discussion right away.

"They have her. And it seems like they aren't being too nice to her." Nico replied, seething with anger.

"What should we do?"

"Let's discuss that in private."

They all headed over to a quiet area. They would often go there when they needed a break from the noise. They sat in a circle and started talking.

"Well, the easiest thing I can think of doing is to find a way in when they aren't around. But, we would have to know the route. Who knows how long we would have inside." Nico started off the suggestions.

"Maybe we could just force them to let her go?" Hanayo suggested, trying to find a more legal way to do it.

"Yeah, and then they'd hurt her." Nico retorted.

"How about we cause a distraction to keep them out and get in? But, how can we get in?" Nozomi asked.

"They had a key hidden outside. If it's there we could use it." Eli recalled.

Nico nodded, "That's right! We could probably do that!"

"Unless they planned for it and they removed the key from its place." Umi warned.

"You think they would know we knew the key spot?"

"They wouldn't want to take any chances if they were smart." Umi stated.

"Well, what plan are we going with?"

"I agree that we should try to sneak in when they aren't home. It would make life a lot easier for all of us."

"Except if they have video cameras that can show us breaking into their home. Then we'll be arrested." Eli reminded them.

"Oh… what the hell do we do then?!" Nico was growing extremely frustrated.

Umi placed a hand on Nico's shoulder, "Hey, calm down. We will figure this out."

"Blowing up and winging it is the worst thing we could do right now. We just have to take some time to work this out."

"I know… it just seems like we aren't getting anywhere." Nico mumbled.

"We need to know the house. That's the only way we can truly come up with a plan. So, perhaps tonight someone could get a closer look?" Kotori suggested.

"How about two people go? It might be risky with only one." Honoka stated.

"Any volunteers?" Umi asked, nodding in agreement with Honoka.

"Nico, you aren't going." Eli stated sternly as the black-haired girl started to open her mouth.

Nico gave her a betrayed look, "Why not?"

"You'll let your emotions take control. It's best you stay behind." Eli told her.

Nico sighed and didn't argue. She knew it would be pointless.

"I'll go. Who else wants to go with me?" Nozomi said.

"Can I?" Kotori asked.

"Sure."

 **DIVIDER--**

Everyone had gone to their homes to wait for it to get darker outside. After they deemed it dark enough, the scouting started.

"I'll go around the back. You stay here and watch." Nozomi told Kotori, before carefully sneaking behind the house.

Kotori scanned the front of the house, making sure to note anything that seemed out of place or too perfect. But, she didn't see anything. It looked as normal as the houses around it. Kotori was surprised. She was certain they'd have put up something to prevent them from getting to Maki. It really wasn't looking like it, though.

Then, she wondered if they thought that it would be a rescue mission done when they were home and in bed. Going through the front door isn't exactly the wisest thing to do when sneaking into a house with people home. Kotori decided Nozomi would probably find something set up to prevent them from getting in the house.

Nozomi hadn't found anything in her short search. She couldn't spy any cameras or decoy objects. Everything seemed to be just how it would be under normal circumstances. That made her even more suspicious. They must have put traps inside.

"Making this complicated, are they?" Nozomi mumbled as she continued scanning the area as much as she could. The only light they had was the street lamps. And there weren't many. It was difficult to see.

 **DIVIDER--**

Seeing as the search yielded nothing of interest, they all decided it was best to just wing it and hope nothing went horribly wrong.

"If we can't get her out tomorrow night, at least we can report her missing the next morning. Then we could give a tip and hopefully she'd be found." Kotori tried to lighten up everyone's mood.

"I just hope we don't have to do that…" Nico seemed to grow more and more worried by the minute.

"There isn't anything we can do right now. Let's get some rest and discuss this again tomorrow."

 **DIVIDER--**

The next day wasn't any easier than the first. Everyone was on edge still. Nico was barely holding it together. She was losing hope that they'd find Maki almost unharmed. If what she heard that night was any indication of what they were doing to her, it seemed like she might be bruised or beaten badly when they found her.

School was hard for them. Everyone wanted to be out planning their break-in. But, they knew better than to do that. No one was paying attention in class. They had too much on their minds to even try.

Thankfully, they all managed to make it through the day without getting in trouble. They immediately went to Nico's house to plan the next stage of their mission. That was just deciding who was going to the house.

"Alright. You three stay safe. Keep us updated."

The three Lily White members had been chosen to go. Everyone knew Nico had to stay. She might not run with the plan and instead to anything.

"We will." Umi promised as they headed out the door.

They started jogging down the roads until they came to a halt close by their target. After a few minutes of waiting around, they saw Maki's parents exit the house and drive off.

"Let's go. Be very quiet." Umi hissed as they snuck over to the house.

Once there, they carefully walked up the steps and scanned the area. Everything seemed okay, so they continued to the door. Once there, Nozomi went to see if the key was still in the spot that had last seen it in. Much to everyone's relief, it was exactly where it should be.

Nozomi handed it to Umi, who after a quick scan of the area, put it in the keyhole and opened the door. She held a finger to her lips, making sure to remind Rin not to make any noise.

They headed inside and quickly shut the door. Umi set the key on a small table by the door. After they made a quick confirmation that they were indeed alone, they started the serious part of the mission.

"Rin, look around this floor and also guard the door. Text if they come back. I'm going upstairs. Nozomi, see if there is a basement to explore. If not, help Rin." Umi ordered.

They nodded and split up. Umi went quietly up the steps. Nozomi vanished around a corner and looked for doors. Rin hesitated at the door, before going to look around the ground floor.

Umi carefully wandered the hallways and started opening doors. She wasn't having much luck, until she came to a locked door. As she tried to open it, she listened for any noises. Nothing seemed to be in the room. But, Umi wasn't giving up until she got in. She left the door and started scanning for a key.

Nozomi had located a basement door and was exploring the depths of the house. She wasn't finding much other than boxes. It seemed as if there wasn't any way Maki would be down there unless there was a trap door hiding somewhere. Nozomi doubted that was a thing.

Rin hadn't found anything promising, so she went back to the door and stared out the window, keeping a close watch on the road. Her phone was gripped in her hand incase she needed to use it quickly.

Umi had tracked down a few keys, so she went back to the locked door and tried each one. She had found five in total. The first one didn't even fit in the hole. The second couldn't turn. The third didn't unlock it. The fourth opened the door. Umi set the keys down, before picking them up again and just leaving the fourth key on the ground. She returned the other ones and then came back to the room.

Nozomi explored the entire basement, so she went back up and quietly asked Rin if she had any luck. Rin shook her head. Nozomi stayed by Rin and helped her keep an eye out for anyone coming in.

Umi carefully opened the door. She was greeted by darkness. She couldn't see anything, so she was forced to turn on the light. The sight she was greeted with wasn't what she wanted, but she was expecting it. Umi carefully made her way across the room and knelt beside Maki.

She was laying against the wall, her body covered in bruises and cuts. Umi gently laid a hand on her and tried to see if she would wake up. Maki didn't respond, leaving Umi to believe she had been either beaten into unconsciousness or knocked out before they left.

Umi left her briefly to go fetch Nozomi for assistance. The two of them walked into the room. Nozomi very gently picked up Maki and brought her out of the room. Umi turned off the light and then locked the door. She then returned the key back to its original place, before heading downstairs with Nozomi. Rin met them at the bottom. Her eyes widened farther than they thought was humanly possible. She was shocked extremely badly from Maki's injuries.

"Let's go." Umi whispered, opening the door.

Nozomi exited first, Maki safely held in her arms. Rin went next. Umi followed, bringing the key with her. She locked the door and returned the key to its place. Then they speed walked away and back to Nico's house where everyone was waiting for them. Rin texted them and told them the mission was successful, but they needed to get a first aid kit ready.

They reached the door and quickly entered. Nozomi rested Maki carefully onto a futon that they had prepared for her in the living room. Nico was instantly by her side, gently trying to coax her awake. Her attempts seemed futile at first, but it seemed to work as Maki started making small moans and tensing her body up slightly. Seeing as Eli hadn't started attempting to patch up her injuries yet, and she hadn't made a single noise during the entire walk home, they could only assume she was waking up.

"Maki… take your time… you're safe now…" Nico whispered as she held one of Maki's limp hands in her own, "Rest up… don't push yourself."

After she confirmed that Maki was able to wake up, Nico wanted her to rest and save her strength. She didn't want her to wake up yet. Who knew how much pain she'd be in if she was fully conscious.

The small pain-filled noises slowly stopped and Maki slowly relaxed. Nico let out a small sigh of relief. Eli moved to kneel beside her and start the first aid. Nico let go of Maki's hand, but stayed by her side incase she woke up again from the pain Eli would, unfortunately, have to cause.


	24. Chapter 23

"Should we report this?" Kotori asked.

"I think that should be Maki's decision." Eli replied, "Afterall, she was the one who suffered."

"I hope she gets better quick." Hanayo said.

Everyone tried to keep a conversation going to try and lessen the tension in the air. Nico wouldn't join in. She was focused solely on Maki. Eli was doing her best to apply any creams or bandages as gently and painlessly as possible. She knew Nico would force her to stop if she hurt Maki too much.

"I've done all I can. Let's just hope nothing could be fatal if left untreated." Eli declared after almost half-an-hour of nonstop work.

"I don't think anything will be. They wouldn't want to do that." Nico whispered as she grasped Maki's hand again, running her thumb over the younger's palm.

"I agree. They'd never want her to die. Then they'd be the first ones to be investigated." Umi nodded.

"We should get some sleep. It's late. Do you want to move Maki or leave her here for the night?" Nozomi pointed over to the small clock on the wall. It read 1:54 AM.

"Leave her here. I'll stay with her." Nico stated, glancing up for a second to look at everyone else.

"You sure?"

"Yes."

Everyone slowly bid them goodnight. It had been decided earlier than Eli, Umi, and Nozomi would remain with Nico and Maki. The rest of μ's was sent back to their own houses. Except for Honoka, who instead decided to go stay with Kotori for the night, stating that her family wouldn't be very pleased to be woken up by her return.

"You guys can stay upstairs in the rooms if you want." Nico mumbled as she kept switching gaze between the three girls standing above her and Maki.

"I'll stay down here as well. Just in case you need help with anything. You two can go up." Eli offered.

"I don't care. Do as you want for sleeping arrangements." Nico said casually as she stood up.

That was what they ended up agreeing with. Nico and Eli remained in the living room with Maki. Nozomi and Umi, much to her dismay, stayed together in the guest room. Eli took one of the couches as her bed, while Nico snuggled up next to Maki, being careful not to move the girl too much.

"Nico?" Eli asked after a few minutes of silence.

"Yeah?" Nico responded after a few seconds of silence.

"Can we have the TV on?" Eli asked quietly after a moment of hesitation.

Nico sat up, giving her a confused look for a minute, before it clicked, "Oh, yeah. I'll turn it on. Do you want sound?"

"Not really…"

Nico got up and grabbed the remote. She turned on the TV and quickly muted it, not remembering how loud it would be. She didn't want to wake the two sleeping girls upstairs. Sound traveled easily through the house.

"That better?" Nico asked as she set the remote back down and crawled in next to Maki again.

"Yeah. Thanks…" Eli replied, before she turned to face the back of the couch.

Nico silently shook her head and rolled her eyes at the older girl. She found her fear somewhat entertaining. It was definitely a sight to see a normally calm and collected person so scared over something like that.

Nico snuggled closer to Maki, giving her some more warmth. Maki was cold, unlike Nico. Nico got up again and grabbed a spare blanket to drape over Maki. After that, she finally was able to snuggle and fall asleep peacefully.

 **DIVIDER--**

The next morning, Nozomi was the first one up as always. She carefully got out of the bed, not wanting to disturb Umi, who had spent a good hour last night arguing about why they shouldn't be sleeping in the same bed (It's shameless). She had only given up when exhaustion finally got to her and she couldn't stop yawning enough to finish any sentence. She deserves a bit more rest, were Nozomi's thoughts as she left the girl sleeping peacefully.

As she entered the living room she did a quick check to make sure everything was okay. Everyone was still asleep, or so Nozomi had assumed. As she got closer to them, she noticed a certain red-head was actually laying there with her eyes open and glancing around.

"Ah, Maki-chan. How are you feeling?" Nozomi asked softly, hoping not to startle the girl too much.

Maki tilted her head to the side where Nozomi now stood, "Uh… I'm fine, I guess. But, what happened? How did I get here?"

"Oh, right. You wouldn't know." Nozomi giggled slightly as she settled down beside her, "Last night we somewhat broke in and got you out. I can give you more details later. But first, do you want or need anything?"

"Something to drink." Maki replied as she worked her way out of Nico's grasp and sat up.

"Anything in particular you want?" Nozomi asked as she stood up.

"Water is fine." Maki told her.

Nozomi nodded and left to go get her a glass. When she returned about two minutes later, Nico had woken up and was currently refusing to let go of Maki.

"Nicochi, let her go so she can drink." Nozomi asked her calmly.

Nico frowned, but released Maki from the hug and let her drink the water Nozomi had brung. A few minutes later, Eli woke up and joined them in sitting on the floor by Maki. Maki asked them questions about what had occurred the night before. They all did their best to answer, but it wasn't much they could do.

"Umi is the one who can answer most of those questions. But, she's still resting." Nozomi told Maki.

"Alright." Maki nodded.

"Anyway, I'm hungry. Let's make something to eat!" Nico got up and held out her hand for Maki.

"That sounds like a good idea."

 **DIVIDER--**

By the time they had finished, Umi had finally joined them in the land of the living. As they ate, Maki would occasionally ask Umi a question about what had happened. Umi explained what she knew, which was quite a lot more than the other three had known.

"So, Maki, the big question now is what do you want to happen to them? Do you want to report them, or just leave it?" Eli asked after the questioning had concluded.

"I want to report him. I don't really care if she gets in trouble. I just want him to be punished for his actions." Maki replied.

"That's fine. Once you're ready, we can do that."

"This afternoon?"

"Sure."

 **DIVIDER--**

That afternoon, Maki and Nico went down to the police station and filed the report. Maki told them about all the abuse and hatred she had endured. Of course, she didn't mention the breaking in and escaping. She lied and said she got lucky and fled the house when they left for work.

The police believed everything she said, much to their relief. They had both heard stories of corrupt cops many times and were worried it might become a reality for them. But, thankfully everything went smoothly.

Afterwards, Nico decided to treat Maki to a small date to help her relax after the ordeal. Now all they had to do was wait and see what would become of her family.

 **DIVIDER--**

 **Next chapter will be the last one. It's hard to believe the book is over already.** **Let's just say I may have written books before of 60 chapters. I am trying not to do that this time.**


	25. Chapter 24

Maki and Nico spent the majority of the day out around town doing as they wanted. It was a nice break from everything. The two of them had a great time. They started out at the arcade and then went walking around stores.

"Hey, Maki. I think this would look good on you," Nico held up a dress. It was red and had sparkles all over it.

"Y-you think so?" Maki looked at it doubtfully. It was bit too showy for her liking.

Nico nodded, "Try it on."

Maki complied and took the dress to the dressing room. She put it on and looked over herself in the mirror. Surprising she didn't have too many doubts now that she had worn it.

Maki stepped out of the room and let Nico look. She smiled and started complimenting her. Maki changed out of it and then they put it back. They weren't planning on buying anything. They were just trying things on for the sake of it.

"I'm gonna find something for you to wear." Maki stated as she looked through all the racks.

Nico waited by her side, wondering what type of outfit she would end up having to try on. She didn't wait long as Maki pulled something out. It was a light pink dress that was decorated by flowers along the edges.

Nico took it and tried it on. She spent a few minutes just staring at herself in it in the mirror. She had to admit it was really beautiful. As she finally stepped out, she was greeted with a few comments about how cute she looked. Nico blushed slightly.

After that, they got some lunch at a small café. The rest of the day consisted of just goofing off around the town. They only returned back home as it was becoming dark.

When they got home, it was almost eight-thirty. Both of them were pretty exhausted. Maki went to go take a shower while Nico made them something for dinner. They ate and then Nico went to get a shower. Afterwards, the two of them snuggled up in their bed and fell asleep.

The next morning, they found out what had become of their report. They were woken up early by a knock on the door. Upon opening it, they were greeted by someone who was from the Child Protective organization in the town. Since Maki was technically still under her parents control, she was supposed to be adopted by other family members.

The morning went by slowly as they sat in the kitchen and discussed the options. It took a long time, but they came to an agreement. Maki would be the responsibility of her grandparents, but she was allowed to still remain living with Nico. Once that was decided, the worker left.

"Well, I guess we should go let everyone know." Nico said.

Maki nodded, "I guess so."

 **DIVIDER--**

(Many years later)

"Are you nervous?" Nozomi teased a bright-faced Nico.

"M-maybe…" Nico admitted hesitantly.

Nozomi have her a reassuring smile, "You got this. Go get her."

Nico nodded, thanked Nozomi, and then started heading down the street. Nozomi followed behind at a distance, wanting to know how it went.

Nico stopped at the park, which was empty. The sun had just started rising in the sky, coating the land in a warm glow. Before Nico stood Maki, who was unaware of the plan that was about to take place.

Nozomi stood by the streetlight closest to them and watched them with a motherly gaze. A smile slowly made its way to her lips.

"M-Maki?" Nico asked her quietly.

"Yes?" Maki replied, a puzzled expression on her face.

She had woken that morning to a note by her side telling her to come to the park for daybreak. Nico hadn't been anywhere in the house by the time she was up.

"Uh… I… I…" Nico stammered out, unsure how to start.

Maki waited silently, her mind trying to piece together what was going on.

"M-Maki… w-will you m-marry me?" Nico decided to just go straight at it and proposed.

Maki froze up her a moment. She hadn't even considered this as a possible outcome.

"Y-yes…" Maki managed to get out.

The two of them embraced and kissed. Neither were aware of Nozomi watching them. Nico had thought she stayed at her house.

Nozomi smiled at them, before she walked off, not wanting to spoil their moment together. As she was walking, she started to wonder if that day would come for her eventually.

 **DIVIDER--**

Almost six months had passed before Maki and Nico were able to get their marriage worked out. No one in either of their families attended. But, they didn't need them anymore. Everyone in μ's was there and that was all they needed.

The wedding went well and they all celebrated through the night. It was almost two in the morning when they were finally alone. They went to bed, decided the tradition of "tying the knot" could wait. It wasn't like they hadn't already done it.

 **DIVIDER--**

Down the road, Eli and Nozomi were the second couple to get married. They moved in with Eli's family instead of getting their own place.

After that, Nico had found out about an adoption agency willing to let gay couples adopt. It was a rare sight, so they took advantage of it. They welcome a daughter by the name of Aoki into their family. And a month later, they were asked to take in her brother, Mito, as well.

Tsubasa and Honoka ended up with a kid, though they never explained how. Her name became Hina. They has her since she was born. No one quite understood it, but decided against pressuring them for the truth. They only got engaged and hadn't set any date for a wedding.

Kotori and Umi got married almost a year later. Umi was the reason. She wasn't very confident about letting her relatives in on this relationship. But, as usual, Kotori convinced her, through indecent means, to do it. They ended up adopted two kids, Suka and Suzu, shortly after getting married.

Hanayo and Rin got engaged, but couldn't agree on how to proceed. Neither could decide a perfect wedding, so they didn't announce much else.

Everyone was happy and had everything they could need for the moment. They still would meet up and occasionally hold fake practices like they were still school idols. Everyone enjoyed it. And nothing seemed to be wrong. If something started happening, it was quickly shut down by the others. No one had many problems in their lives anymore.

 **The End**


End file.
